Second Star On The Right
by TheTeaDrinker
Summary: Before Killian Jones, before the Lost Boys, before everything, Peter Pan was alone in Neverland. On a trip to the Enchanted Forest he meets a young girl who captures his attention, and his heart. Peter Pan/OC
1. SSOTR: CHPT 1

At first glance, his eyes skimmed over her before they moved on, but when he realized exactly he'd just looked over, he snapped his head back around and stared full-on at her.

It was the middle of the day in the middle of a market. Peter had just finished up a deal and bought some extra magical herbs that he was sure would come in handy later, so technically there was no reason for him to stay.

But he couldn't get his eyes off her.

Her dark hair was twirled expertly in a refine manner at the back of her head, not a hair out of place. Her neck had a small chain with glittering jewels all around in, and it rested just above a periwinkle bodice. There were intricate designs stitched all along her dress, which flared out at the hips and reached just above her ankles. The most interesting thing of all was the fact that she looked so visibly uncomfortable.

Not in the market, she chatted politely with a merchant as he showed her fruits and powders in jars. She was uncomfortable in the clothes. She pulled the neckline up multiple times, adjusted the skirt, and moved the necklace, patted down her hair. It wasn't a show of nervousness; she just looked awkward, like someone in clothes that didn't really fit them, or someone in a costume.

She picked up two smalls jars of red powders and exchanged money with the merchant. When she put the jars in her bag, more pieces fell into the puzzle that Peter was slowly solving. The bag was brown and a little ratty, certainly not the bag of someone wearing _those _kinds of clothes. She started to walk off, and Peter took the opportunity to step over to the man she had just bought from.

"Hey, can you tell me who that girl was?" Curiosity got the better of him, and he promised himself that he'd simply follow her for the rest of the day and return home to Neverland.

"Oh, her? She's the lord's new ward. Apparently she saved his prized horse or something and now he's going to raise her. Throwing her a ball tomorrow and everything. Hey- are you going to pay for that?!" But the merchant was drowned out as Peter was already practically skipping down to where she was at the end of the road, his stolen apple in hand.

He watched as she walked slowly and carefully, like if she moved too quickly she might fall into a million pieces. So she wasn't born into royalty and wealth, he thought to himself, just had a stroke of good luck. She continued down the busy street (it was a market town after all, and if she lived with the ruler of the land, she was very lucky indeed), still not noticing the boy in dark green clothes following after her in a relaxed place.

At what he assumed was the lord's estate, she walked up a long cobble stone walkway and hurried up into the house (mansion), picking up her skirts and everything. Still, slightly curious about her, Peter circled around the house to try and see where she might come out of, or if he could see her through one of the hundreds of windows.

Sure enough, she poked her head out of a door on the back of the house and then picked up her skirts once more and ran towards what looked like stables. Peter silently watched as she raced down to the stables and slowed as she approached the horses. She looked over her shoulder a few times, then started pulling the pins out of her hair in a haphazard way, uncaring as they scattered on the ground. She marched over to a laundry bin by all the dresses and bed sheets that were hanging and moving in the winds. One of the bed sheets got blown in front of her, but Peter still managed to see her shoving the dress off of her body and throwing it over the clothes line. She pulled a dark blue shirt over herself, and left her petticoat to hang over her legs.

Completely astonished by what she had done, Peter watch to see what she might do next, pleasantly surprised by this odd change of events.

The girl went back to the horses, and unlocked one of the stables. The horse she chose was mud-brown color and trotted a little roughly as she guided out, and it was obvious this horse hadn't been broken in yet.

But she bravely placed the saddle on him and adjusted the straps, and mounted him. Expecting her to be bucked off, Peter was surprised again when the horse gave a pleased neigh, and took off running when she whipped the reigns.

Entranced by this unexpected girl, and a plan formulating in his mind, he followed her into the woods.

She expressed more emotions on that two-minute horse ride than Pan had seen on her all day. She looked completely free as she rode, whooping and cheering, her hair blowing behind her in waves, bouncing up and down with the rhythm.

She was completely unguarded too, making the horse jump over logs and into streams, she would make long turns and after a while, she finally grew tired and slowed the horse down. Breathing heavily, she stopped the beast around a small tree, and panted as she tied the reigns around it, ensuring that the horse wouldn't run off.

It was then that she noticed Pan.

She turned and ran her hand through her hair lazily, getting it out of her face. As she did, she saw the green-clad figure leaning against a tree, watching her with an impressed look on his face. She froze.

"Well, that was fun to watch." He commented, tilting his head in amusement as she grew distressed.

"How-how long have you been there?" She stammered, backing towards the horse, leaved crunching under her feet as she did.

He shrugged, "Only a little while. You're quite a good rider you know." Her eyes widened at the unexpected compliment. When she didn't say anything, he moved off the tree and started walking towards her.

"I'm Peter Pan." He introduced himself, bowing slightly out of respect. She was of high status, even if she'd only been put there recently, which meant she still received and deserved the respect of her title, whatever it was exactly. Plus, if she saw his good manners and liked them, it could work in his favor. When he looked up at her, she had a mixture of hesitance and interest on her face. Slowly, she picked up the sides of her skirt and lifted them, curtsying.

"Lillian." She offered, eyes looking up to meet his shyly, that fire he had just witnessed in her earlier snuffed out. She was the meek girl in the market again, the girl in the uncomfortable dress.

"You were going very fast, do you need to get somewhere or something?" He moved even closer to her with the question, and was pleased this time because she didn't step backwards.

"I just…" she trailed off and looked at the ground, apparently losing confidence rapidly. He considered cupping her face with his hand to make her look at him, but soon enough there was no need. She cleared her throat and looked straight up at him, meeting his gaze, "I like it when I get to go fast. I like the wind and the trees and how it feels."

He raised an eyebrow, smirking in amusement as he looked at her. She was a pretty thing, wasn't she? He looked down at her, wondering why he was so fixated on her, couldn't he just leave back to Neverland?

But it was lonely back on Neverland. He loved the power and magic that came with ruling the island, but there was also no one there. Other than the occasional child who showed up for the night, Peter had no one but the neighboring tribe, who actually did their best to avoid him.

Maybe he wanted her to come with him to Neverland, maybe he just wanted a friend.

"Aren't some lord's daughter?" He asked, vaguely remembering what the merchant had explained to him before he took off.

She seemed to deflate a little at the question and moved to lean against the tree the horse was tied up on.

"No," she remarked in a hard voice, it was such a stark contrast to her carefree voice that he had heard a moment ago Peter had to do a double take as he looked back up at her. "Lord Bryant took me in about a month ago. He had gotten his favorite horse injured while riding it in the middle of the woods. I happened to be there and I tended to his horse. In return, he adopted me into his mansion and gave me a new life." She worked a smile onto her face, but she also spoke the whole thing like it was a script she had to recite daily.

"How do you feel about that?" He asked, taking another bite of the apple. He was around halfway done with it.

She looked up at him in shock. "What?" She questioned, regarding him like he had grown a second head. He repeated the question.

"Nobody's asked me that since he took me in." She whispered. His eyes softened as he looked at this girl, and he realized why she did what she did, why she rode the horse so freely, but had to sneak out to do it.

The fancy life with the dresses and the hair, it was all a cover up for a giant prison. She used to be free, and now she was forced to live a life of quiet and solitude and elegant dinners and high heels. No wonder she was hesitant to talk to him, to tell him why she did what she did. She had been a tiger, and now she was caged.

Before she could answer, there was the loud sound of trumpets and other horses in the distance. She looked panicked, and began untying the horse hurriedly, then clambered on.

"That'll be Lord Bryant. He'll be at his house soon. I should go." She was in position to leave but she still looked down at the green-eyed boy, and hesitated.

"When can I see you again, Peter?" She blurted out before she could stop herself. Unable to help himself, a smile spread across his face at the thought of her wanting to see him again.

"Whenever," he replied.

She paused for a moment, and then spoke quickly. "There's a ball tomorrow in Lord Bryant's estate at seven. Meet me at the back of the mansion at seven thirty and I can sneak you in."

He nodded. "Until then."

She smiled at him one last time, whipped the reigns and the horse galloped off, carrying her away into the distance.

"Until then," Peter whispered once more to himself, watching her go further and further away.

It's funny, how both of them were so desperate for company, for companionship. Lillian, because of her solitude forced on her, and Peter because of the solitude he forced on himself.

* * *

><p>The next day Peter watched in curiosity as things were delivered into the grand mansion of Lord Bryant. Carriages with decorations, food, musical instruments, lots of large, fancy things for an obviously large, fancy party. Peter watched from a distance, but he couldn't see Lillian anywhere. He figured she might be outside greeting people or helping servants or something. She didn't even show up in the back yard. Peter couldn't help it; he was disappointed that he hadn't seen her.<p>

It was about six o' clock when guests started arriving. Since he apparently had to sneak in, it must've been invitation only. All the women were fashionably dressed, half of them with giant feathered hats that made Peter laugh. It was one of those moments that made him glad he would never be an adult. The men wore colors to match the women and kept their swords tied at their sides. Lots of men had medals pinned to their shirts or fancy scarves tied on them, which Peter knew it meant that they had been to war, and done something they thought was brag worthy.

More and more guests streamed in as time went on, and as the crowd started thinning, the great big clock on the front of the building alerted him, letting him know it was seven-thirty.

Peter hurried to the back of the mansion, making sure to keep his distance so that none of the guards noticed him. When he reached the back, he dug into himself to reach some of Neverland's magic, and gently flew himself over the stone wall, landing softly on the grass. He started walking forward when a thought occurred to him.

All of those people were dressed up, and he was still wearing what he wore in Neverland. As he looked down and assessed himself, he realized that he would stick out quite sorely, which was probably a bad thing. He mustered up some magic, still not very good at controlling it, and transformed his clothes into something slightly more elegant. He wore a dress shirt and a dark green vest over it, and some soft and even darker green pants. He decided he'd just have to keep his shoes the way they were, considering he didn't know what kind of shoes rich people wore.

"I just need some air, I'll be right out!" He heard someone yell, and looked up to see one of the doors opened, and a girl walking out of it. Upon closer inspection, he could see it was Lillian.

She was picking up her skirts and walking out onto the ground, and Peter took the time to stare at her. While he definitely liked her yesterday, hair wild, cheeks flushed and not a care in the world, he had to admit she looked wonderful now too, even if she seemed a little uncomfortable again.

Her dress was a light shade of green (Peter _definitely_ liked her in that particular color), and it looked tight on her waist, and pushed up on her chest, leaving her neck and collar exposed. The skirt reached the middle of her shins, scandalously high for a female of her status, but she wore it so innocently no one could accuse her of being aware that she was wearing a too-high skirt. Her shoes had no heels, which made her seem smaller than yesterday, but allowed her to move more easily. Her hair was pinned to one side, and small flowers were placed here and there as her hair flowed in shiny curls down to the bottom of her shoulders.

She stopped when she saw him, and a gleeful expression overtook her face, causing him to grin back. She walked towards him slowly, as if approaching a present you weren't sure you wanted to open and let the surprise be over.

"You clean up nicely," she remarked coyly, and he raised an eyebrow, but the mischievous glint didn't leave his eyes.

"I could say the same for you," he commented, reaching up to admire one of the small flower trinkets in her hair. Her breathing slowed for a second as his hand was so close to her face, and her eyes looked up at him expectantly.

"Lilies?" He questioned in a teasing tone. She smirked, and reached up to take his hand. She had intended to just remove his hand from her hair and be done with it, but as she moved his hand down, she couldn't stop holding it.

"It's clever," Lillian shrugged, moving her eyes away from him. He only smirked down at her, liking the way a small blush was appearing on her face.

"I like it," he breathed, and suddenly he was the nervous one. He seemed to figure out that they were inches apart this time, and his eyes kept glancing down at her lips, which had been painted a few shades darker.

She looked up at him again, and then glanced down at their adjoined hands. Following her line of sight, Peter saw them as well, and took the initiative and opened his fingers, interlacing their hands.

The whole exchange was silent, but Lillian thought it spoke novels. She met his gaze one more time, and then smirked.

"Come on, Peter, we've got a party to go to." She tugged on his hand and pulled him towards the loud house, which had chatter and music pouring out of it. Every window was lit up, and most of them had people started to walk up to them, starting to look out.

Peter smirked at the dark-haired girl and followed after her, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

><p>Lillian was nervous, to say the least.<p>

Leading a boy she'd met in the woods on a horse ride she knew she shouldn't have been taking in the first place into the house she'd been blessed with living in, while a party held for her was taking place was probably one of the stupidest plans she'd ever come up with.

She used to be like this, impulsive, reckless, jumping into things with no thought and then jumping out quickly when things might be going bad, but she thought she was done with that. When she'd been taken in by Lord Bryant, she swore that she would be better, think through her decisions and absolutely _not_ trust random boys she met!

But this time was different, she thought to herself, looking up at Peter as she guided him through a hallway. Peter was much different than boys she'd been with pre-Lord Bryant. Sure, he was very handsome and he acted quite intelligent, but there was just…this air to him. Like, he felt different than anyone she'd ever met. Almost otherworldly. But she knew that was impossible. Magic may have been real, but other worlds? That's was just nonsensical.

Lillian clutched his hand a little tighter as they neared the dance hall.

"He really likes to go all out, doesn't he?" Peter remarked, peering out into the room. It was true, Lord Bryant had lots of money, and he liked showing that off. The dance hall was huge and lit with crystal candles and flowers (lilies, specifically) hung all around the room. At the end of the hall, near the large window, was what looked like a full orchestra. People were moving throughout the room, milling about, most of them dancing, but a few eating by the tables or talking to one another. All of it gave Lillian a teensy feeling of claustrophobia.

Peter, sensing her discomfort, figured she'd better get out there now or she never would.

"Come on," he lifted her hand. "I believe it's time for us to dance." He lifted an eyebrow and smiled at her.

She moved them both out slowly to the edge of the people dancing. Taking her time, she brought her hand up to his shoulder, bringing their other hands up into the air. Peter's left hand moved towards her waist, and he put his hand down tentatively, almost as if he was waiting for her to run away. But, instead she moved closer, meeting his gaze and beginning to move her feet.

Peter knew how to dance, or at least he had been taught how to. But even if he had forgotten (it had always seemed like useless information to him anyway), he was sure he could pick it up pretty well. And he did. Lillian moved with surprising grace, and he tried to match her, but it was a little hard too. She tried to act conserved and quiet, like a tentative little rich girl, but Peter noticed that she moved quickly. Every now and then she'd spin a bit too quickly, or there was a little too much spirit in her step. She was much too wild, Peter thought to himself with a smirk. This Lord was a fool if he thought that he could give her pretty dresses and fancy houses and suddenly she'd become another person. Even if she wanted, she couldn't stop being who she was.

The music took a pause, and Lillian stopped, panting, as the light dulled in her eyes and she brought herself down to earth.

"Enjoying yourself?" Peter asked, and she simply grinned, nodding enthusiastically. He returned her expression, just looking at her for a moment.

"Let's get something to eat, I'm starved." She muttered, pulling him again to the tables of food.

"I am a bit famished, myself." He spoke to himself, but Lillian heard it anyway. When they reached the table, Peter put his arm around her waist again, bringing her closer to his side as they inspected the food. She said nothing in response to it, but she did smile at the action.

They started with the fruits and deserts, like true children, filling their stomachs quickly. They washed it all down with the drinks they could find, but they all tasted vile and alcoholic to Lillian.

All the while Peter talked to her, asking her about her life in town, before she'd become high society. She told him how she was a training to be a doctor, so it really was lucky she'd stumbled across the Lord and his horse that day, anyone else and the horse would be lost. When she asked where he lived, he paused, not sure how to answer that. If he told her the truth, she wouldn't believe him, so he decided to say that.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." He said, and she put her hands on her hips in a display of cheekiness.

"Really?" She drawled, enjoying the feeling of teasing him.

"I never lie," He defended, putting his hands up. She laughed, and leaned against the stone wall where they were standing.

"Lily?" A small voice asked from behind them. Both turned around, Peter in annoyance, Lillian in curiosity.

"Felix!" She squealed, and moved over to hug the blond boy. Peter noticed that the kid was barely older than a toddler, maybe five or six years old. The small boy wrapped his chubby arms around Lillian, clutching tightly at her. When she pulled away, the child stared up at her with something close to reverence.

_This is interesting,_ Peter thought.

"You look real pretty, Lily." Felix spoke, his voice small and nervous, like him. But Lillian beamed at him.

"Thank you so much, Felix. I'm so glad you could come, I haven't seen you for months!" She gushed over him, still kneeling over him.

"I had to after you invited me, Lily." He blushed, looking at the ground. Suddenly, she remembered Peter behind her, and turned to look at him, still holding the boy's hand.

"Peter, this is Felix. He was my best friend when I lived on my own in town." He nodded, and smiled at the boy.

"Nice to meet you." Peter greeted, but the boy regarded him suspiciously, his face cool. Peter might've laughed but he thought Lillian would get offended.

"I'm still your best friend, right?" He turned back to her, all hopeful and childlike again.

"Of course!" She gasped, "You'll always be my best friend, Felix." He smiled once again.

Lillian turned back to Peter and asked him, "Can you excuse me for a few minutes? I owe a certain little guy a dance." He smirked.

"Of course, Lily." He answered, and the switch from her full name to the nickname did not go unnoticed. Felix looked between the two as they shared a smile.

"Come on, big guy," She moved the boy to the dance floor and they began, earning endeared smiles from the women and chuckles from the men.

"Are you going to marry Peter?" He questioned her once they started dancing.

She regarded the question thoughtfully. She certainly wasn't _planning_ on marrying Peter, but the thought seemed kinda nice. "Probably not," she answered.

Felix seemed horrified by her answer, and her use of 'Probably'. His petrified little face was too much to handle, Lily had to start laughing.

"I'm only joking, Felix! I've barely known Peter for a day now," she spun him around as they danced, and while he seemed comforted, he still scowled.

The dance finished soon enough, and Lily ended it with a kiss on his cheek (making him blush and scowl even deeper) and a warning to get to his mother soon, it was _definitely_ past his bedtime. He muttered something about his mother being stupid as he hugged Lily goodbye, and stomped off.

She smiled as she watched him go. Lily really like spending time with Felix, he truly had been her only friend, and her his. She was the partially the reason he was so rebellious and resistant towards his mother, something she would always remind Lily of whenever she saw her.

Lily started looking for Peter, wanting to spend more time with him before the night was up. As she peered over all the guests, she noticed something.

Lord Bryant was addressing the crowd.

Her eyes widened in panic, and she carefully began shoving her way through the crowd, trying to make her way to him.

"Well, it certainly is wonderful to see all my old friends and potential friends tonight, on this special night." He didn't even have to yell as he spoke to him. Everyone was looking, still, entertained and charmed by his easy-going smiles and carefree attitude. Peter watched from the back of the room, realizing this was the man who housed and fed and clothed Lily without anything in return. It sounded like a dream, which is exactly why Peter was suspicious.

"This whole party is meant for a very special someone. I know she's out there somewhere, "He looked out into the crowd, but didn't have to for long. Lily was already walking up the stage where he stood, trying to avoid the musicians and their giant instruments.

Lord Bryant gave her a smile and held his arm out to her. She returned the smile and took his hand, looking nervous with everyone watching her.

"Miss Lillian, my ward; everyone." There was a large amount of applause, but it seemed more polite than anything. Peter pushed off the wall and started weaving through the crowd, slowly making his way across the grand dance room.

"So have fun, eat all my food and dance to your heart's content everyone!" There was applause once more, and everyone started going back to what they were doing. The music started up again, and Peter watched as Lily gave another smile to Lord Bryant and started to walk away. He didn't like the way the Lord kissed her cheek before she walked away, and he especially didn't like the way his eyes lingered on her as she walked away.

Determined to find out more, Peter quietly walked behind Lord Bryant as he was talking to another rich looking man as well. He tried to listen without looking suspicious, but it was hard to keep his face in check when he did over hear them.

"What do you plan to do with the girl, Bryant? I know you, and you'd never take in some beggar just because they fixed up your horse." The two laughed, as if that was somehow funny.

"Well, she's not entirely ready for high society yet. Another month or so and she'll be an accomplished young woman, and in another month or so, she'll be of legal marrying age."

Peter's blood turned to ice, and he quietly fumed at the man. _The scoundrel! He was in this to sell Lily off like some piece of furniture?!_

"You plan on giving the girl up? You must think she'll raise quite a price. I imagine a lot of princes; kings even would love to snatch her up when they see her pretty face."

"God, no! You'd think I'd get rid of her to some royal prat? No, no, she's much too gorgeous for that. I'm a collector, Adam; you remember. I'll marry her myself when the time is right."

Peter's fists were clenched now, and he was struggling to keep calm. He could feel the magic slowly seeping out of his skin in angry waves, and he had to physically shake his head in order to control it. If he went crazy now, he'd just make things worse. But one thing was for sure; there was absolutely no way he was letting Lily stay here.

"Peter!" His head whipped around, and he smiled just from the sight of her. She clutched her chest dramatically.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! How could you abandon me so?" She adopted a posh accent, but to him it sounded like she was making fun of his own.

"As I remember, you abandoned me to dance with a five-year-old." She rolled her eyes.

"Don't turn the tables on me, Mr. Pan!" She bristled, then titled her head as if recalling something, "and he's a six-year old." She added firmly.

Peter rolled his eyes good naturedly, "my mistake."

She smirked, and grabbed his hands, pulling him out onto the dance floor. The music was much livelier now, and it really seemed like Lily was getting into it. She skipped and laughed and jumper, pulling Peter along with her. He had so much fun just dancing with, prancing around, like wild children, that he almost forgot what Lord Bryant had said about her.

Almost.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes yes yes, I know I'm a horrible person and I should totally be updating my other stories, but I just finished Once Upon a Time and I fell in love with Peter Pan. He's just such and interesting and cool character, I had to write for him.<strong>

**That being said, I will be taking lots of liberties and making up back stories for almost all the characters, except the main Once Upon a Time cast. The first couple of chapter will be mainly back story stuff, just introducing the plot and stories. I do plan on following the storyline of the show, but that's probably going to take a while to get to. I think that'll be in a sequel, and this first story is going to be adventures in Neverland and such.**

**I hope you like this!**

**-TheTeaDrinker**


	2. Chapter 2

As the party started ending, Lily felt herself becoming more and more morose at the thought of having to say goodbye to Peter. They kept talking and dancing and laughing, but time kept going by.

God, she just wished time would _stop_. Just let her be stuck in this perfect moment with this perfect boy. Let her forget about Lord Bryant and his stupid wishes for her, forget that she shouldn't even be with Peter in the first place, forget that she knew little to nothing about him.

As guests started leaving, Lily had an idea.

"Will you come with me somewhere?" She asked, eyes hopeful and shining. How could he say no?

She brought him upstairs, to the third floor, where no servants were at currently. Shyly, she brought him to her room.

She walked across the room and over to the large window, looking out at the stars. She noticed Peter wasn't anywhere near her and looked over at the door. He seemed to be staring at her and the room with a gob smacked expression.

"What?" She asked insecurely.

He snapped out of the expression, and managed a smirk. "Lily, I'm flattered an all, but we've barely known each other two days…" He trailed off teasingly.

When she caught his meaning, her mouth opened in shock and she stammered for a second. "No! I-I didn't want to-I mean I _like _you and all but no! I wasn't trying to get you to do anything, I wasn't-"

He laughed, making her catch her breath and struggle to control herself. She didn't manage to hide her flaming checks, though she could feel them heating up.

"I know, I got it." He said.

She turned around, not wanting him to see her embarrassed face anymore. The room was quiet again and she managed to pull herself together. But, that self-control was broken when he came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist, lifting his chin to rest on her shoulder. She closed her eyes, leaning into him. They swayed for a while, just touching and moving slowly together. It wasn't particularly sexual, what they were doing quietly up in her room, but it was intimate and close and made them both feel things that hadn't ever felt before, with anyone, with anything.

"Why do you stay here?" Peter asked softly into her shoulder, so quiet she might've missed it.

Lily stiffened slightly, but kept her position, "What do you mean?" Her hands went over his on her waist, just playing with his fingers.

"You don't enjoy it here; you take every excuse you can to escape away. You're being controlled, and you don't like it." He spoke slowly. There was a chance she would react badly to his words. From what he had seen, she was fiery and passionate, like a wild animal.

But instead she just sighed, and swayed in his arms for a moment before saying in a little broken voice, "I don't have anywhere else to go."

Peter stopped, freezing as he held her. This was his chance. Now, he could say it, now.

"What if you did?"

Lily moved, turning around to face him, looking at him curiously as she regarded him. "What do you mean, Peter?"

"What if I could take you away from all this," he brought his hand up to gesture around him, "what if I could bring you to a place where you could be free, wild, whatever you wanted, forever?"

She stared at him, searching his eyes, looking for some trace of a lie, a joke. There was none.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice sounded so strange now, so hopeful and dejected all at once.

"You wanted to know where I lived?" Thinking she should be sitting down when he told her this, he moved them both to sit on her bed. She stared straight into his eyes the whole time as he talked.

And he spent quite a lot of time talking to her. He told her the whole story. How he spent his nights from when he was as tiny as Felix to when he was a teenager in Neverland, visiting the island to play and laugh and be young. As he grew in the Enchanted Forest, he realized he would have to grow up, become an adult and leave Neverland forever. So he found a way to stay forever, by binding his heart to the spirit of Neverland. It was a complicated ritual, one that involved having to give up his heart into a very large tree.

Lily gasped when she heard that part. "You don't have a heart?"

He shook his head, "No, my heart's still beating in my chest, but its power is tied to Neverland, so I get Neverland's power, and it gets mine, forever."

Lily stood up, rubbing her face as she walked around the room. "This is a lot to think about, and I'm not even sure that I believe you…"

Peter was slightly hurt that she might've thought he was lying, but also understanding. It was a pretty outrageous story. He certainly wouldn't have believe it if he was her.

He got up and stood by her, determined, "I can prove it."

She looked at him, hands dropping to her sides. She looked so…lost. Her makeup was fading on her face; her hair was messy, tangled in curls and fake flowers, her clothes hung more loosely on her now, since she'd stretched them out a lot while she danced. She looked tired. She looked energized. She looked hopeful. She looked desperate.

Peter pulled out his pouch from his belt, and pulled open the top. She peered inside, hands hesitantly moving towards it. He encouraged her with a nod, and she plunged her fingers inside, and she grasped one of the items and pulled it out of the bag.

"What are these?" She rolled one between her forefinger and thumb, "Beans?"

He cautiously picked it from her fingers, keeping eye contact as he held it in front of her. "These are magic. They can take us across realms. If we throw this one though, I can control it and it can take us to Neverland. You can come with me." He whispered the last sentence, hoping, desperate to convince her.

She stared at the bean for a while, seeming to be thinking about this very hard. "If we use this, we'll both be in Neverland?" She looked into his green eyes, which were inches from her own.

He nodded.

"Can we come back?" She whispered, still searching his face to see if this was a joke.

"Yes," he murmured. She closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly.

"Let's go, then." She said with an air of finality. Peter looked at her, hope on his face.

"Really?" Lily smiled as she looked at him, nodding.

"I want to see Neverland."

And see it, she did.

Peter ran with her through the forest, chasing her through the trees as she laughed and skipped, hair flying wildly, dress ripped, not a care in the world. He transported himself to where he was right in front of her, and she saw him too late. Shrieking with laughter, they tumbled through the jungle, and fell, him on top of her.

He smirked down at her, moving one strand of hair from her face. "Caught you," he triumphantly declared.

She laughed, and looked up at him. She moved her hand forward, and tangled her fingers in his hair. Peter closed his eyes at the action, both surprised and pleased. She was much more free and happy here than back in the Enchanted Forest. Back there, she would've spent a good minutes just mustering up the courage to reach up her hand. Here, she did what she liked, because she had the freedom to do what she wanted.

He had given her that freedom.

They both stared at each other, and slowly it dawned on both of them that they were in a particularly precarious position. But that didn't deter them, in fact, it seemed to encourage them.

Lily leaned up as Peter leaned down, and they both kissed in the middle, desperation and all the built up tension flowing into the kiss. It was different than other kisses Lily had had. This time, she really felt something for the lips she was kissing. Remembering that he liked it when she was untamed, she bit at his lips, making him groan.

Smirking into the kiss, Lily mustered up the strength to roll them over, straddling him as she deepened the kiss, leaning over him. Peter started moving his hands up her waist and along her torso. A thought occurred to lily and she broke the kiss, looking down at him for a minute.

"What is it?" He asked, head tilted a little as he rubbed circles into her hips. Even through what felt like inches of fabric, the act making her shiver.

"Well, if we never grow old…" she considered her words carefully, "then we should have forever for things like this." She ran her hand along the side of his neck, and he smiled up at her.

"Of course," he whispered. They both moved up and into standing positions, Lily brushing bits of dirt from her legs. Peter leaned over and kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes and smiled at the gesture.

"I have to show you as much of the island as I can tonight." He stated, eyes sparkling with the challenge. She grinned at him, and they took off running.

Pan yelled through the wind, "I haven't even shown you the magic it has, yet!"

Of course Lily only needed one more trip to Neverland the next night before she jumped at the chance. Eternal youth? Lifetimes of adventure? Forever with Peter Pan? How could she say no?

They spent day after day running around the island, cheering and whooping and doing whatever the hell they wanted. Peter showed her the animals on the island, gave her weapons, and taught her to hunt. She showed him how to make flutes out of bark, and taught him how to dance. They lived in their own happy world, where nothing could touch them, nothing could hurt them.

There was lots of kissing involved too.

Elevated with the freedom of never having to look over her shoulder, never having to watch what she said, being able to dress how she wanted, do what she wanted; it elevated Lily to highs she'd never been to before. Though, that could have been Peter's flying.

It was one day when they'd been lazy and just lying there, her head in his lap, his fingers idly combing through her hair, when she noticed the smoke.

"Peter? Is that smoke?" She asked, sitting up to see the smoke rising above the trees on the other side of the island. He sat up slowly, groaning as he did. He stretched for a moment and followed where her hand was pointing.

"Yes it is. I'm so glad you were blessed with your amazing vision." She hid a smile, and shoved him playfully with her shoulder.

"I'm serious, are there other people on this island?" She looked at the smoke with something akin to wonder, and Peter wasn't sure how he felt about her with that expression on her face for anything other than him.

"There's a tribe that lives here, natives. They do whatever they want, as long as they leave me alone." He informed her, resting his head on her shoulder as he sat by her side.

Lily's eyes sparkled, and she got up, a determined look on her face.

"Can I go meet them?" She asked gleefully. She was practically jumping in place, and Peter had to hide to smile at how adorable she looked.

"You can do whatever you want, my little tiger." He placed his hands on her hips and brought her closer to him. Embarrassed by the nickname, she ducked her head and tried to stop him from seeing her pleased grin.

"You know what I mean," she hid her face in his chest, and he patted her hair absentmindedly.

"I'll take you to their village, but I shouldn't go in, they don't really like me there." He frowned as he thought of a new thing "I don't think they speak English, either."

"So?" She mumbled, moving her head away to look at him, "I can learn their language soon enough, especially since we have nothing but time." She pointed out. He grinned as she said that. He was always pleased when she said things like that, promised to be with him forever.

"Let's go!" He picked her bridal style, grinning as she moved and wiggled in his arms, trying to resist him. "Here we go!"

Lily wasn't exactly sure what to expect when she neared the tribe. She could see huts and people walking around with dark leather skin clothes, which made sense, there weren't exactly wool plantations on the island. She could see a large bonfire that was causing all the smoke, and over it an animal (what looked like a boar) was roasting. Two women and a man were watching over the meat, the rest were walking around, doing chores and things. Lily watching the whole system with so much curiosity and she didn't notice two people coming up behind her.

She became aware that they were there when she felt their spears in her back.

She turned to face them slowly, putting her hands up in the air to show she was unarmed and that she had no intention of hurting them.

"Uh, hi?" She tried, wondering if they couldn't actually speak English. It wouldn't be the first time Peter was right about something. The two men, whom Lily presumed were the warriors or guards or something, talked to each other, but they sounded more confused than anything. Her question was answered when they spoke, it wasn't English at all.

Their language was melodic, and pretty. It had so many rising and falling pitches that Lily almost thought they were singing. But it was also so interesting. She'd never heard another language before!

They both put up their spears and the one on the left moved forward and pushed her (not roughly) into the camp. They followed behind her, guiding her with subtle pushes. It was clear that they didn't mean to hurt her, but had no other way of communicating to her where they wanted her to go.

They stepped into the middle of the camp, and whatever conversation had been happening before ceased. Every person all around looked up to stare at Lily and the two men leading her through them. Lily just looked interested in everything, looking all around her in wonderment and fascination.

The men led her to the biggest hut of all of them. Guy on the left with longer hair moved forward and opened the flap that was some sort of make-shift door to the hut. Lily smiled to him gratefully, and he nodded in acknowledgement. As she walked through, she thought that the stoicism reminding her of Felix.

Pushing the blond boy to the back of her mind, she focused on the old man sitting in front of her, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Hello?" She greeted uncertainly. It would certainly make things awkward if she had no way of talking to anyone.

The man blinked then seemed to recover from his shock.

"Hello," he spoke in a rough but old-sounding voice. Now it was Lily's turn to be surprised.

"You speak English?" She started sitting down mimicking his position by crossing her legs. He nodded at her slowly.

"Many of us knew English, but almost all have forgotten as time goes on. I am one of the few who remembers." He reached over and pulled a pot from over a fire, taking two cups as well.

"Wow," Lily whispered, utterly entranced with the history of this tribe. Back home, nothing was this interesting.

"I am Marching Bear, what is it you are called?" He asked her, tugging at the end of his bear.

"I'm Lily," she shrugged, "though Peter calls me Tiger."

Marching Bear froze, and stared at her. "Peter? Like Peter Pan?"

She nodded, wondering why he became so distressed at the mention of his name. "He's the one who brought me to the island, to live with him."

Marching Bear shook his head, obviously worried. "We do not trust Pan. Our fortune-speaker told us when he came that he brought destruction and doom."

"Destruction and doom?" Lily asked incredulously, "that's impossible, Peter's not violent! He hasn't ever wanted to do anything harmful to you!" Maybe it was dumb, but Lily felt she needed to defend Peter against them. Peter had never done anything wrong.

"I am sorry if this hurts you, Lily. It was not my intention." He poured her some of the steaming drink from the pot. Lily took it but didn't drink it, waiting for it to cool.

"Is that why you stay away from Peter?" She inquired, truly curious about them and the way their whole way of living worked.

"Yes," he nodded again, "but also because we do not know him, but we know he can be powerful."

Lily already knew that though. Peter like showing off to her, so he would display his magic, his powers when he could. She also knew that he controlled the island, could make trees move and wind blow. If he wanted to, Peter could completely change the way this tribe lived, but he hadn't done anything, couldn't they see that?

She asked him how long his tribe had been there, and he replied that, like Pan, the people never aged as time went on, so they stopped keeping track of how long they'd been there. Soon, he began explaining places on the island she should avoid, plants she should never eat, or the best places to go hunting. Lily had already heard most of these things from Peter, but it was nice to talk to someone else, especially someone who was clearly an expert. They began talking about many things, he told her of his children, and she told him of her childhood. He asked about her relationship with Pan, and she replied that she wasn't exactly sure.

When it started getting dark, Marching Bear took her out to the bonfire to eat and talk with the people. They seemed as fascinated with her as she was with them. They touched her clothes (sadly, her dress from back home), her hair, her skin. The children were much bolder, and a few girls started braiding bits of her hair, weaving feathers in. The adults and teenagers began teaching her their language, and she learned 'Hello', 'Thank you' and 'Boar'. She started learning phrases, with Marching Bear butting in every now and then to correct them on something.

All in all they were very friendly and wonderful company. Lily loved being there.

At the end of the meal, Marching Bear (whom Lily had found out was the chief of the tribe) walked over to her and lifted her hand into the air.

He shouted something Lily couldn't quite understand, but she could hear plenty well what he said at the end,

"Tiger Lily!"


	3. Chapter 3

The tribe yelled and whooped as the fire died, dancing around the flames as they became embers. Lily watched the whole display, entranced.

"Enjoying yourself?" A whisper came into her ear. Arms were wrapped around her waist and she could practically _hear_ his smirk.

"Yes," she said confidently, "but I'm also tired. Walk me back home?" His smirk transformed at a broad grin when she called it 'home'.

"Of course, my Tiger Lily." He scooped her into his arms, noticing that she was yawing.

"You heard that?" She asked, mid-yawn. Going around that camp all day and talking had really worn her out. She tried to stifle her yawns.

"Every word," Peter answered as he turned to avoid having her feet hitting a tree.

"Peter?" Lily asked sleepily as he laid her down on their bed in their tree house.

"Hmm?" He moved a few of her hairs out her face as she settled into the sheets.

"Can I go back tomorrow?"

"You can do whatever you want." He responded, stroking her hair, admiring the feathers as she fell into sleep.

"If you didn't want me to go I wouldn't." She mumbled, her last words before she was out like a light. Peter smiled at her words, but his smile faded when he noticed the Shadow flying around the tree house.

He placed a kiss on Lily's forehead and headed out of the tree house to see whatever it was the Shadow wanted to tell him.

"When did you think you could bring more people here?" The Shadow asked, hovering around him.

Peter gestured up to the tree house, "I brought Lily here to stay with me, to rule by my side. Soon we'll bring more children, lost children, and we'll all live here forever."

The Shadow swooped around and Peter had to turn to follow it, his annoyance at the floating figure showing.

"You aren't even supposed to be staying here, how do you plan on keeping more people?"

Peter shrugged, "Isn't there a way?" The Shadow tilted his head at him.

"Yes…but every act of magic has its price."

"What is it? I'll do anything to keep her here." Peter leaned forward to get closer to the Shadow, eagerness clearly written on his face.

"Bring her to Skull Rock tomorrow. The only way to keep her here is to bind her heart to Neverland's magic. After that you can bring as many people into Neverland as you want." The Shadow started to leave but Peter stopped it.

"I thought I was already tied to Neverland's magic. Shouldn't it already work because of me?"

If the Shadow could sigh in irritation, it probably would've right then. "You are tied to Neverland's magic, but that only keeps you alive. By attaching her life force to Neverland's magic, you will be living off Neverland's magic and her life force. Her power will let more people live here eternally, so you can bring as many…_lost children_, as you want." The Shadow left after that, flying away in the distance.

Peter climbed back into the tree house and laid down next to Lily, who was still sound asleep.

"Soon it'll be for forever," he whispered.

* * *

><p>Lily woke the next morning to an empty bed, which was very different from every other morning. Usually Pan and her would wake within minutes of each other and get up and hunt something for breakfast, or conjure something in their minds. Sometimes they'd each like beggars, other times like kings.<p>

But Peter wasn't there when she rose from her slumber. She figured he was down on the ground doing something, so she pulled herself out of bed. Lily stretched, enjoying the feeling of waking up in such a calm place, she could hear birds cawing and leaves rustling in the wind.

She put on some pants, and tugged one of Peter's shirts over her head. She wrapped her leather belt around her waist, and then descended the ladder down to the forest floor. Sure enough, there was Peter, carving pipes out of wood. He was sitting on a rock, and he looked up when he heard her hit the ground on her feet.

A smile tugged at his lips when he saw her, hair wild from sleep, clothes loose, and a happy glint in her eyes from seeing him.

"Good morning," she greeted, walking over to him. Peter held out his hand for her to take. She complied, watching him carefully. He rubbed his thumb over her palm, and saw that callouses were forming, but hadn't completely marred her soft skin. Soon enough, her hands would toughen up to the island.

He pulled her arm closer to him, and she moved quickly, pressing up against him on the rock.

"Good morning," he finally replied. He used his other hand to hold the side of her face, making her lean into his touch, "you look wonderful this morning."

It was true; she had a certain glow this morning. She seemed lighter; there was just something about her right now.

"I'm happy." She shrugged, figuring that he already knew that.

"Are you?" Peter hadn't meant to let that little bit of desperation slip out. If she wasn't happy, if she was only staying here out of pity, or maybe she figured out that she didn't even like him all that much, or-

"Yes, Peter Pan." She whispered, settling closer to him, moving her hand around his waist, pinning him against the large rock, "I'm happy, here, with you." He noticed a flash of mischief in her eyes and knew what she wanted in an instant. He moved his hands to the back of her lips and they crashed together in a kiss. Lily moved her hands up to his neck, wrapping her arms around him. He picked her up by her legs and, not breaking the kiss, turned her around to pin her against the rock, reversing their positions. Their movements quickened, and Lily started creeping one of her hands up his shirt. Peter smirked into the kiss, and moved his lips, diverting his attention to her neck. Lily bit her lip, her head tilting to give him better access.

They spent the better part of the morning in similar positions, though all around the camp. Somehow they'd made their way back into the tree house, and they laid there for about ten minutes when they were much too tired to do much else.

"There's something we have to do today." He told her, running his fingers slowly over her bare back. She moved her neck to face him, since she was lying on her stomach on the bed, tangled in the sheets with him.

"What is it?" She questioned when she saw the serious look on his face.

Peter sighed and explained to her how the Shadow had visited him after she fell asleep. He explained that the only way for her to stay there forever with him was to link her heart to Neverland's magic. She was quiet for a moment, contemplative, and then she linked their hands.

"Okay, where do we have to do this?" Lily looked at him, and he was staring at her with something akin to wonder, and maybe a little surprise.

"You'll do it?" He asked, searching her eyes for lies. Instead she smiled up at him, almost teasingly.

"How many times do I have to convince you that I want to be here with you, forever?" He smirked at her, and then moved to kiss her again.

"Maybe one more time." He said against her lips, and she smiled.

"Peter Pan, I'll stay with you forever. Now where do we have to do this ritual?"

* * *

><p>It took him a little while to row them both to Skull Rock. When he managed to pull up there, it was already dark out. He tied the rope to a stump there, and then helped her out of the boat. Instead of looking nervous, like he expected her to, she looked curious. She walked hand in hand with him through the tunnels, but she kept glancing at all the skulls that were all around in the walls and in on the ground.<p>

"Really lives up to its name, huh?" She looked at him, a smirk playing on her lips. He returned it, and moved her down the tunnel, leading her into the large open space, two giant holes on the ceiling, which must've been the eyes of Skull Rock. In the middle of it all, was a giant waterfall.

"Is that…?" Lily trailed off, watching in wonderment as the glowing water fell from the tops of the rocks into a large pool that spilled out into streams.

"Yes. That water is the life force of Neverland. It holds and embodies the magic of Neverland. It can cure any ailment, heal any wound. That's how we'll tie you to Neverland." He finished his explanation and she started moving over towards the liquid. She dropped to her knees and stared at the water, mesmerized.

"How do we do that?" She tore her eyes to look back at Peter. He looked a little uncomfortable.

"You have to take your heart out and willingly dunk it into the water." Here eyebrows furrowed, and now she just looked confused.

"How will I…take out my heart?" He reminded himself that she'd barely had an experience or mention of magic before she met him. He lowered himself down and faced her so they were eye level.

"Hold out your hands," he ordered, and she complied immediately, upturning her palms, and he grasped her right hand with both of his. He looked at her hand in concentration and magic flowed out of his hand to cover hers, and soon her hand was glowing and sparkling green.

"What did you do?" She asked, a little dazed and fascinated by the swirling green dust around her hand. She flexed her fingers, watching as it moved with her.

"I placed a spell on your hand so you can take out your heart." She looked at him, and it dawned on her that this was really happening.

"What do I do?"

"It might…hurt a bit." He warned, and she nodded solemnly. This was one of the most serious conversations they'd ever had, one of the most serious moments they'd ever shared.

He guided her hand towards her chest, and she gasped when her hand went through her skin. Her face twisted in discomfort, and she moved her hand until she was clutching what she seriously hoped was her heart.

"Do you have it?" He asked, and she nodded quickly.

"Alright, hold onto it, and pull." She did as he instructed and soon, she was breathing heavily and holding her beating heart in her hand.

It was pure, red and pink and gold, glowing and beating happily along as if it was still in her chest.

"This is so odd." Lily commented breathily. She couldn't stop staring at the organ she had in her hand.

"Come on," he moved her hand over to the pool of water, and she finished the action by submerging her heart into the sparkling water. She gasped suddenly, mainly because the water was _extremely_ cold, and because she had thought she would lose her grip on her heart and seized it a little too hard.

The heart started beating a little faster in the water, and started emanating light, sparks started flying from the water, but when they touched Lily's skin, they didn't burn. The sparks felt cool to the touch. They flew all around the room, up in the air and fell to the ground in brilliant display of flashes. Lily had to close her eyes a few times when it got too bright. Within a few minutes, the sparks stopped coming out of the water. Once the light show started calming down and finally stopped, Peter spoke in her ear.

"Alright, it's done now."

Lily moved her hand slowly out of the water. She took one last, long look at her heart, and then moved it back into her chest, panting slightly.

She hadn't exactly imagined what it would feel like once she had the magic of Neverland running through her veins, the power of being truly immortal, but. It. Was. Glorious.

She closed her eyes and smiled, then laughed, breathing in the air and feeling like she could run, she could jump, she could live forever, she could shout, scream, yell. She felt like she fly.

She opened her eyes and looked at Peter, and she knew if she could choose eternity with anyone, it would be him.

He was the one staring at her now. He was the one looking at her in wonder and awe.

"You look wonderful," he whispered.

"I feel wonderful," she smiled back at him, and the urge to kiss him was too much to resist at the moment, and she gave into it.

* * *

><p>They spent the next few years running around Neverland, flying and chasing and doing whatever they wanted, just as they should. But Lily began to spend more time with the tribe at the edge of the forest. Slowly but surely, she learned their language. She could speak it fluently with them, and she taught some of the children English.<p>

It was strange, since technically the children, even the toddlers were older than she was, but they still acted like children. They laced her hair with feathers and little trinkets they could find. They loved that it curled naturally, tugging on it and running it through their fingers.

Lily even made what must have been her first real friend since Felix. One of the warriors, Ahanu, had become fast friends with Lily. He really lived up to his name, which meant, 'He Laughs'. They guy joked constantly, it was so strange to think he was one of their warriors.

He showed Lily the proper way to cut up the animals they caught, how to use every part to both honor the animal and to help herself with everyday activities. His carefree attitude and laid-back nature was such a stark contrast to Felix, who was very serious most of the time, and only joked under a blue moon.

Lily spent many of her days thinking about Felix. So much time had passed in Neverland, and Peter had told her that time passed differently in Neverland than it did in the Enchanted Forest, so she couldn't help but wonder. Was the boy all grown up? Did he have a new family, a wife, maybe children of his own? Had he forgotten about her?

She knew it wasn't fair, when she had left Felix herself, to feel sad at the thought that he might've forgotten her. But it wasn't like she could take him with her! He had a life ahead of him, parents who would take care of him and many skills to take him far in life. In truth, Lily knew that he would be much better, happier even, back home in the Enchanted Forest.

Lily was chasing Peter through the jungle, both of them using their ability to transport and appear all across Neverland to their advantage. Lily appeared right in front of Peter, breathing heavily as he quickly stopped himself from slamming into her.

She punched his arm lazily as he neared, grinning largely. "You're It." She spoke, and then took off in the opposite direction.

He growled and chased after her, watching as she turned her head to laugh at him as she ran through the trees. He watched as she froze, and he jogged over slowly, wondering why she just stopped.

Lily had felt a strange tingling in the back of her head. She turned to look at him slowly, her eyes widened in shock and confusion.

"There's someone in Neverland."

They ran towards a large cliff that overlooked Neverland's calm waters. Peter noticed the wind picking up, and the slow formation of clouds ahead. She looked at Lily.

"Calm down, love. If someone's come into to Neverland, it's likely that they aren't here to harm." He held her face in his hands, hoping to ease her worry.

After a moment, she nodded her head in understanding, and they reached the edge of the cliff.

"It's a ship," Peter stated, looking to see that a large ship had landed in Neverland, and people were using small rowboats to get to shore.


	4. Chapter 4

The two lovers appeared behind the men that had showed up in their land. Lily wondered why these men had come onto their shores; they had to be here for a reason, right? Curious, she listened to their conversation.

"So we never have to bury another sailor at sea again?" The one with longer hair asked. Lily looked at their clothes, and realized they must have been the King's Royal Navy. Captain and Lieutenant, if she remembered correctly how the uniforms were supposed to go.

"Now you understand the importance of our mission." The taller one said.

"Are you two lost?" Peter interrupted. The men both reacted instantly, drawing their swords and pointing them at the teenagers.

Peter and Lily didn't have particularly threatening looks on their faces, they just looked merely curious. No one had ever made it to the island before, unless they were sleeping children. And it wasn't like the men could hurt them either; both of them had more power than the men could dream of.

"You look lost to me," Lily smirked, tilting her head at the two. The one with longer hair kept glancing around, as if expecting more people to appear out of nowhere. It only caused her smirk to deepen. They really didn't know anything about Neverland, did they?

"Identify yourselves!" The taller one barked.

"I'm Peter Pan, this is my Tiger Lily." She gave a mocking half-bow. "We live here."

"Who are you?" Lily inquired, looking between the two. They had similar features, maybe they were related.

"Captain Jones." The taller one introduced himself. They started sheathing their swords, thinking that these children could in no way pose a threat. "And my lieutenant."

The lieutenant kept his eyes on the two of them as he put his sword away, probably not trusting them. Lily kept eye contact with him while Peter watched the Captain.

"We're here by order of the king." Lily turned her eyes back to the Captain, not liking his slightly arrogant tone.

"The king, huh?" Peter responded sarcastically, like he was impressed.

"There aren't any kings in Neverland. Just Peter and I." Lily told them, making the lieutenant frown and the older one chuckle.

"That's funny." The Captain remarked. He held up a piece of paper to the two, and they both regarded it suspiciously. "We seek this plant. Now, tell us, children, where can we find it?"

Lily's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the drawing of the plant on the page, and the label for it.

_They were looking for Dreamshade, the deadliest poison on the island._

"You're _king _sent you for this plant?" She asked incredulously, as Peter plucked the paper from the Captain's hands. They both leaned in to look more closely, as if they might be seeing it wrong.

"You know it?" The Captain questioned, a slightly hopeful look on his face. Finding it might not be so hard after all. But the lieutenant grew worried. Why had the girl reacted in such the way she did? It didn't seem likely that she would react that way towards medicine.

"Dreamshade is the deadliest plant on the island." She informed them.

"Your king must be really ruthless." Peter commented.

"Nonsense!" The Captain yelled, around the same time the lieutenant said in a calming voice, "its medicine."

"It's doom." Lily warned in a serious tone. Peter put his arm around her waist and pulled her close, elaborating on what she said.

"Why fight a messy battle when you can kill an entire army with the sap of one plant?" He raised his eyebrows at the men, and Lily watched as the men turned away from them to speak in lowered tones.

The lieutenant spoke quietly to his Captain, his eyes worried. Lily could tell he was starting to believe them.

"Don't be so gullible," Captain Jones advised. He moved away from his lieutenant, looking back at Peter and Lily.

"These _children_ are playing games with us," he explained, taking the paper out of Lily's hand with a little more force than necessary. The action caused Lily to purse her lips in anger. "And I'm quickly tiring of them."

"Come, we should keep moving." The Captain started walking into the forest. The lieutenant stared at them for another moment, then nodded his head curtly in goodbye, and followed after Captain Jones.

The teenagers brought one hand up to wave goodbye condescendingly, leaving an eerie feeling with the lieutenant.

"Don't say we didn't warn you!" Lily called, and waited until the two men were out of sight.

"We're following them, yeah?" She asked Peter, and he smirked down at her.

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>The two followed the men for a while, knowing that they were both hilariously lost. It was clear to both of the sailors that the only way to find the plant without searching the whole island would be to just ask the inhabitants.<p>

They asked Peter and Lily where they might find the Dreamshade, and Lily hesitated.

While she didn't particularly like this Captain fellow, he seemed honorable enough. And something could go wrong and he could end up poisoned himself. He didn't deserve to die, even if Lily didn't like him.

"It's at Deadman's Peak." She sighed, pointing up to the large mountain of a rock. The Captain thanked her with a nod and started climbing eagerly.

Peter looked at her apprehensively, wondering why she had told them where they could find it.

"Sailor!" She stopped the lieutenant when he started to climb.

"What is it?" His voice was annoyed as he turned to look at her, but he saw the grave look on her face and sobered quickly.

"There's a reason that Dreamshade grows on _Deadman's_ Peak." She emphasized the words in hopes that he would understand what she was trying to convey.

He looked worried for a moment, then, again, followed after his Captain.

* * *

><p>Lily and Peter watched from a distance as the two men (who turned out to be brothers) made it to the top and argued. The younger one thought that the Dreamshade could very well be a poison, but the older was adamant in his belief that it was not. In order to prove this to his brother, he cut himself using one of the thorns laced with sap, and they both acted so surprised when he fell to the ground.<p>

The younger tried to pull him up, hoping there was a way to save him.

"We tried to warn you," the younger brother looked up to see the two teenagers from earlier, one leaning against a rock, and the other standing opposite, leaning against the other.

The man's eyes were rimmed with red, tears threatening to fall.

"He'll die as soon as the poison makes its way to his heart." Lily stated, walking over and crouching by the man. She used to be on her way to being a doctor after all; she knew how to handle dying people. She placed her hand on the side of the dying man's head in a display of comfort and kindness. Peter watched, silently.

"Please," the younger man begged, looking between them both, "he's my brother. He's all I have left."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have goaded him into it." Peter suggested. Lilly turned to give him a sharp look, and he shrugged at her as if to say _'Well, he shouldn't have!"_. Wordlessly, Lily agreed, but she wouldn't let Peter know that.

"He's so stubborn, I didn't mean to!" The man cried, trying in vain to pick his brother up. He looked up suddenly, staring at Lily, thinking she might help him more than the boy.

"Can you help me?"

She stood silently, coldly assessing the situation. "There is a way to stop him from dying." She informed him.

He scrambled to his feet, looking her dead in the eyes. "Tell me."

Peter walked over to where many vines of Dreamshade hid a large waterfall behind them. It was a similar waterfall to the one in Skull Rock; it had the same water flowing through it.

"Would you like to try?" He asked Lily, and she knew what he meant immediately. They hadn't seen if she could control the trees and plants like Peter could. She moved her hand outwards and waved, hoping she could hurry this along before the poison reached the unfortunate man's heart. Thankfully, the vines moved away on her first try. Lily hid her smile of triumph, knowing this wasn't the time for celebration.

"This spring," Peter began explaining, "these waters are rich with the power of Neverland. It's what keeps this land and all on it," he looked over at Lily, and the lieutenant followed his gaze, realization dawning on him, "so young.

"If one was to drink directly from it, its power could cure any ill."

"Thank you," the man said desperately, and started to move towards the spring.

"But," Peter grabbed his arm to stop him from going any further, "we have to warn you."

"All magic comes with a price." Lily finished, "especially this magic."

"Don't leave the island unless you're willing to pay it." Pete whispered ominously, carefully treading around the true price of drinking from those waters.

"Of course, whatever you want, it's yours." The man ran to the water, filling his canteen quickly.

Peter wrapped his arms around Lily, and they both already knew how this tale would end for the two brothers.

"Let's go," he whispered, and she nodded in agreement. And the two were gone.

* * *

><p>The man and his brother climbed aboard their ship and soon enough they were off in the air, soaring away.<p>

Lily and Peter watched them go, sitting quietly on the rocks by the beach.

"I should go, I promised Ahanu that'd I'd see him before the day was up." She started to get up, and because she did, she missed the dangerous look of jealousy that crossed Peter's face and was gone in a moment.

"Just stay for a moment longer, love." He whispered, tugging her hand. She smiled sweetly down at him, and pecked his lips.

"I'll come back as the sun is setting, and then you can have me for the rest of the night." He smirked against her lips, moving up to kiss her just a little bit deeper.

"Deal?" She asked, leaning back to look at him, her eyes filled with mischief.

"I can live with that." He muttered.

"Oh, I bet you can," she teased, taking a quick kiss to his neck before getting up once again.

"Until then, Peter Pan." She saluted him and disappeared, probably halfway across the island by now.

"Until then," he repeated to himself.

* * *

><p>Peter tried to be happy for her, he really did, but he just couldn't. He had seen her talking and laughing with that tall warrior, he had seen her spent excessive amounts of time with him. Peter had seen the suggestive looks the chief gave that warrior when Lily wasn't looking. Peter had seen the looks the warrior gave Lily, he had heard the women's conversations as they walked through the forest, gathering berries.<p>

They wanted the warrior and Lily to be married.

It made Peter's blood boil. It made him want to go tearing through that camp, track down that damned warrior and rip his shadow from his body, send spears through his chest until he would never laugh again.

But Peter knew he couldn't do that.

He knew that if he wanted to get Lily away from that camp, he couldn't do it in any way like that. So, whenever Lily left to see them, Peter started planning.

Within a week, he was ready.

* * *

><p>"Lily," he drawled carefully, watching as she looked up from sewing a patch on her clothes. She's recently torn through them, so she was attempting to salvage them, "I've got an idea."<p>

"What is it?" She queried. She moved her supplies to the ground by the bonfire and faced him.

"How would you feel…about more people on the island?"

Lily blinked, certainly not expecting _that. _"What?"

He walked over to her, crouching to look at her, "I know you get lonely sometimes, so I want to go to the Enchanted Forest. There, I can bring back children who have been abandoned, children who feel lost. We can give them a home, here, with us." Lily stood up, and started pacing about the camp, thinking about what Peter had just proposed.

"How will you-how will you find these children? How will you find abandoned children?" She asked, stopping her movements to look at him again.

"With this." He held up his pipes, which only confused her. He'd finished carving those a day or so ago, how would they help this plot?

"Using our magic, we can enchant these pipes so that only children who feel unloved can hear them. I can play my tune and they'll come running. Soon, I'll ask them to come with me. If they agree, then I can bring them here." He laid out the whole plan for her, and a fond smile appeared on her face as she listened to him rant.

"How long have you been planning this?" She asked, and he was a little shocked that she saw through him this easily.

"Since you started visiting the tribe." He answered honestly. She raised her eyebrows but didn't comment.

"If you think it'll work, we should do it." He grinned at her approval and grabbed her arms, making her dance with him around the fire. She laughed and leaned her head back as she danced, hair swaying from side to side. They jumped and pranced around for a while, acting like the wild little things they were, but soon settled into each other, leaning against the other and swaying softly.

"Do you really believe it'll work?" He laced his fingers through hers and held them out to their sides, moving her gently against the wind, the fire crackling behind them.

She leaned back and looked him straight into his pretty green eyes. "I believe in _you_, Peter Pan. You never fail." He smiled at her encouragement, and kissed her softly on the forehead, both of their eyes closing momentarily.

"We should go to sleep soon." He murmured.

"Hmmm, maybe later," she teased, turning and running towards the tree house, sending a wink over her shoulder at him.

He grinned, put out the fire with the wave of his hand, and dashed after her, climbing the ladder fluidly to chase after his Tiger Lily.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! We're finally getting to the actual plot of the story! I know the first couple of chapter were kinda slow and a bit boring, but things will start to pick up from here. We get to introduce the Lost Boys (which I'm so excited for, I have so much planned), and what is Peter planning? Will something bad happen? Something good?<strong>

**Also, I'm glad I got to show Killian and his brother. In the show, it seemed liked they showed up and only Peter was on the island, so I decided to hold off having the Lost Boys in the story for at least another chapter.**

**I know it seems like Peter's being a little OOC, but that's actually part of the story. In this timeline, he starts to act like the demon he is when the Lost Boys show up and when he gets even more angry at the tribe, and because the whole Heart of the Truest Believer thing. And if you're wondering if the tribe will play a role when the show begins coming to Neverland, don't worry, I have something planned for that too ;)**

**Please Review!**

**-TheTeaDrinker**


	5. Chapter 5

It was about a week that Lily spent practicing her powers with Peter in preparation to enchant the pipes. He started out his lessons by practicing on the birds. They found ways to make the birds come into their clearing with just a few notes.

"You've been spending so much time with that boy, I barely see you anymore Tiger Lily!" Ahanu told her by the bonfire. Lily had spend four days staight practicing magic with Peter and finally got enough time to spend with the tribe. She was too tired to do anymore dancing, so she settled for sitting with Ahanu as he bound an arrowhead on a spear.

"Peter's teaching me magic, watch this," eyes sparkling with delight, Lily stretched out her hand to the fire. Instantly, a small puff of fire flew over and danced over her hand. A few of the people sitting nearby gasped and started moving closer to stare at the flame in her hand. She grinned over at Ahanu, proud of herself, and wanting to show off a bit.

He merely shook his head in response, "You like showing off, don't you, little Tiger?" She turned her hand into a fist, dissipating the fire, making a few more people gasp.

"I may be a Tiger, Ahanu, but I am not little," she bit back playfully, and shoved up from her sitting position to go dancing again, the use of magic making her more energized.

Peter watched from a distance, just barely thirty feet away in the trees. He was far enough to see everything, but the light of the fire was still too far to illuminate his face. From where he was, he could watch as the tall warrior's eyes wandered, watching, staring at his Lily. The warrior stared at the way her body moved to the beat of the drums, arms up and twisting, feet leaping and jumping. She meandered in the air, moving with grace and a wild passion. And that warrior was watching her move with the most disgusting smirk on his face.

Peter felt the same hatred running through him as he did with Lord Bryant. The urge to rip the still beating heart out of that _boy's_ chest nearly overtook him, but he knew he couldn't do anything, not with Lily right there.

* * *

><p>It took her an hour before Lily started walking back to camp, and it was the latest she'd ever stayed with the tribe. Usually she'd be back at least around the time the sun was setting, but this time she had stayed well into the night, so caught up with the dancing and festivities that she hadn't realized how late it was.<p>

She walked into the camp, wondering if Peter had fallen asleep already. Her silent question was answered when she saw him sitting on a tree stump by a small fire. His face…Lily hadn't, in all her years on Neverland, ever seen him with that particular expression. He looked angry. No, he looked furious.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw him like that. She didn't know how to handle Peter if he was angry, and she didn't even know why he was angry. Cautiously, she moved forward, coming into the light of the fire.

"Peter…?" Her voice carried over to him, and his head snapped up to look at her. His eyes burned at her for a moment, and then he stood up bumpily.

"You spent quite a long time at the camp, _Lily_." He spat the words at her, causing her to flinch, and anger to build up in her as well. What the hell was his problem? It wasn't like she had done anything wrong.

"Yes I did." She retorted confidently, "Is that what's got you all knotted up?"

He moved across the ground, appearing in front of her in an instant, fire burning in his eyes. "Don't play dumb," he snarled, "I see the way that warrior looks at you."

Lily was momentarily stunned by his revelation. She didn't exactly know what she was expecting when she saw him all pouting and brooding and mean-looking, but not this. This was about Ahanu?

"What are you talking about? Ahanu doesn't look at me in anything other than a platonic way."

"Don't lie!" He yelled. The fire roared behind him, and thunder clashed above. Instead of frightening Lily, it only made her angrier.

"Maybe you can't see it," he whispered spitefully, "but that doesn't mean it isn't there." He moved closer towards her with every word, glaring down at her. Lily's fists clenched at her sides.

"If you're jealous of Ahanu than you are much stupider than I ever thought you were."

Peter blinked, surprised at her defense. She waited for him to retort, like he always did. Instead he just stood in stunned silence, a surprising amount of vulnerability in his eyes. When he didn't say anything, she gave him a disgusted look and stomped off into the forest.

"When you're done acting like an idiot you can talk to me." She yelled back at him, not even bothering to turn her head to say it.

Lily trudged through the jungle angrily, pissed off about everything. The light, airy feeling she'd gotten from the hours of dancing had evaporated and left her feeling like there was a slab of heavy anger weighing her down in her stomach. She muttered hatefully to herself about Peter being the stupidest person she ever met and if he just thought for a second he would know that there was no way anything would happen between her and Ahanu.

Unable to keep a firm grip on her emotions, her magic sputtered out of her hands, flaring in all directions as she ventured further and further into Neverland. Leaves caught fire as they happened to be in her path, and a set of scorched foot prints followed her through the path. Lily hadn't actually been this far by herself, but she didn't care. It was her island too, goddammit, and she didn't care about anything other than needing to get as far from Peter as possible.

She found herself on a beach overlooking a large stream, and collapsed onto the sand, the anger that had been fueling her gone. She grasped at the ground, hoping to get some sort of stability, but instead her hand only clutched at grains of sand. Lily dropped her head, tears threatening to fall as she shook with silent sobs. This was the first Peter and her had ever fought, ever been really angry at each other.

"Are you alright?" Lily shot up into a defensive position, pulling out one her knives and turning to look around, a wild look in her eyes.

"Whose there?" She spoke to what seemed like nothing.

"I'm right here." The voice spoke again, a little softer this time. Lily turned on the balls of her feet to look at the water, where a head was popping out. A girl's head.

Lily titled her head in confusion, but then realization dawned on her.

"You're a mermaid?" The girl shrugged, and then a large end of a tail came out of the water behind her, proving Lily's theory. She sheathed her knife, and sighed dejectedly.

"You're Pan's girl, aren't you?" The mermaid swam closer to rest her arms on a rock. Lily looked a little offended by that statement.

"_Pan's _girl?" That was certainly not the title she thought she deserved after all this time. The mermaid nodded enthusiastically in response.

"That's what the older mermaids call you. They talk about you a lot." Lily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she scooted closer to the mermaid.

"Really? What do they say about me?" The mermaid smirked cruelly and flicked her tail behind her.

"That you must be crazy to spend so much time with Pan." Strangely enough, the comment didn't offend or make Lily angry. She laid back down on the rock, staring at the stars as they twinkled above her. Surprisingly, the sky was clear and the wind was nonexistent. That was weird; she figured that Peter would have made it storming by now, especially since she had left.

"Sometimes I feel like I am crazy to stay with him." She whispered. The mermaid's smirk fell, and a look of pity replaced it.

"Why were you crying?" She asked softly.

"I wasn't crying!" Lily protested defensively.

The mermaid rolled her eyes. "Fine, why were you _almost_ crying, then?"

Lily paused, not sure why she should spill her guts to this mermaid she had never met before. Peter had told her to stay away from mermaids, since most of them were cruel and only wanted to drown the people they met. Lily was out of the mermaid's reach, so she figured she was safe.

"Peter and I…were fighting."

"What were you fighting over?" This particular mermaid loved gossip, and she leaned forward eagerly, and a little insensitively.

"I did something he didn't like, and I…didn't like that he didn't like it." She answered vaguely. The mermaid rolled her eyes in response.

"Well, that's dumb." She stated bluntly. Lily rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Believe me, I know."

The mermaid waited, figuring she should give the girl some time, when she thought of something.

"Pan's girl?" She questioned softly, thinking she might have fallen asleep or something.

"My name is _not _Pan's girl!" She snapped, sitting up quickly and violently. The mermaid reeled back quickly, as if Lily might be a threat. Her safe softened when she saw the frightened look on the mermaid's face. "It's Lily." She added in a much quieter and less harsh voice.

The mermaid seemed hesitant, but swam forward slowly, "My name's Andrina."

"Nice to meet you, Andrina." Lily greeted jokingly. Andrina smiled back, glad to have made a friend with legs.

"Listen, Lily, you've been here at least a decade, right?"

Lily wasn't actually sure how long she'd been here, years, at the very least. She nodded.

"It's obvious that you must love it here with Pan, so maybe this silly fight isn't that important. If you guys have lasted so long together, maybe you can forgive each other. True love is supposed to last forever. Or, at least, that's what I've been told."

Oddly comforted by Andrina's words, Lily felt herself nodding. "Forever." She repeated in dazed voice.

"So you guys should make up with each other. I'm sure you'll be fine." The mermaid soothed, a smile breaking out when she saw Lily was starting to smile.

"Thank you," she whispered, the mermaid reached up, took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Don't mention it." With a wink and a swish of her tail Andrina splashed back into the water, and Lily was left alone again.

She let out a stuttering breath, giving herself a moment to compose herself. She reached over and splashed water on her face, then furiously scrubbed at her eyes, trying to erase the evidence of tears. Lily ran her fingers through her hair a few times, and then dusted all the sand off her body.

She stood shakily, looking out to the forest, finding the path that led her here. It wasn't hard to find, what with her foot prints burned into the ground.

Taking one more deep breath to calm herself down, she began her trek back to camp.

She was ready to see her Peter Pan.

* * *

><p>But, as it turned out, Peter Pan was not ready to see her.<p>

She arrived at the camp, all hopeful and ready to discuss her feelings or something, and found it completely deserted. Thinking maybe he'd be in his Thinking Tree to brood, she went there, but he wasn't there either. She felt all around the island, but she couldn't sense him anywhere. Lily went into their tree house to see if he was there, but she found a note addressed to her instead.

"Found out how to enchant the pipes on my own." It read, "Went to the Enchanted Forest. I'll be back tomorrow."

Lily angrily crumbled up the paper, and threw it at the wall with a loud yell.

"I hate you sometimes, Peter Pan!" She screamed into the air.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter Pan returned to Neverland in a large swirling cloud of green dust. The wind whooshed in his ears and his feet fell to the ground gracefully, and a feeling of contentment came over him as he was back in his home land, the place he truly belonged. Of course that feeling was immediately crushed to the ground when he remembered fighting with Lily and her storming off. He hadn't, exactly, handled it well by leaving the realm, but he was back, just a few hours later, ready to apologize, something Peter Pan never thought he'd be ready to do.

Plus, he had a surprise waiting for Lily.

Putting his pipes under his belt, Peter started looking around the camp, wondering if Lily was still stomping around the island, pouting at some tree or something.

"Lily!" He called into the air, "Li-i-i-ily!" He cupped his hands around his mouth in a mock-Native call, which left him grinning to himself. Still no answer though. He kept one hand resting on his belt as he walked through the trees, walking around the camp in hopes of seeing his love, but to no avail.

"Tiger Lily?" He called out again, a little more worried now. Sure, she must still be mad at him, but surely she wouldn't have gone this far from camp, right?

Nervousness bubbling in his stomach, he walked more briskly into the clearing, untying his Pied Piper cape and dropping it to the jungle floor. He walked up to his tree house and scaled the ladder, quickly, hoping with all his might that she might be hiding in there from him.

But the thought of that also brought a pang to his heart. His Tiger Lily? Hiding from him?

_Oh, please let her be there._

He was wrong on his first assumption. Lily was resting on the floor of the tree house, slumped against the wall. It seemed the exhaustion from using the magic so consistently, then dancing through the night, then fighting with Peter had finally caught up with her. Lily almost never slept into the middle of the day, so this was a little bit of a shock to Peter. He took a moment to admire her while she was slumbering. Her face was placid, peaceful as she breathed softly through her open mouth. Her hair tumbled down over one shoulder, curls wild and free, feathers sticking out here and there. It was such a contrast to how Peter was used to seeing her, he might've stood there for a good ten minutes just memorizing the image.

But he shook his head to concentrate. Peter and Lily had never fought before, at least not on this scale with this big of an aftermath. In truth he had been the one to cause the problem and he certainly hadn't helped matters by leaving immediately after. He crouched down in front of her.

"Lily…" he spoke gently, hoping to wake her peacefully. She didn't stir, surprisingly. Lily had always been a light sleeper; she must really have been exhausted.

"Lily," he said again, this time a little louder. He carefully moved his hand forward, brushing some of her hair out of the way of her mouth.

That woke her up.

Her eyes snapped open, and she stared straight ahead at him. His breath caught, and he wasn't sure what to do. Hand frozen, hovering right by her face, Peter could do nothing but stare back at her, and suddenly he remembered how much this situation resembled how stock still he had been the night before.

"You're back." She was so quiet, almost silent, and completely emotionless. He nodded, not sure how to respond without having her hate him forever and demand to take her back home. They might've stayed like that forever, locked like statues, eyes burning into each other's, but Lily grew tired of it and moved, eyes cast down to the ground. She stood and moved quietly, heading for the door. He turned and stared at her, and with a jolt of fear he realized he was losing her.

"Lily!" He cried towards her, hand outstretched. She stopped walking, but made no indication that she would turn around.

"Look, Lily, I was scared." He walked forward, pleading with her, "I thought that you and that warrior….it was idiotic, and I know now that it was stupid to even think it…but I just thought that," he swallowed, struggling to find the right words. As he couldn't see her face, he had no idea how Lily was reacting, "I thought that you were going to leave me. I didn't know what I would do if that happened. I went crazy thinking he might be taking you from me. Please, can't you see that?" He stopped, afraid of her reaction. He was afraid she might get angry again, he was even more afraid she would continue to be cold and distant.

She rotated slowly, looking at him clearly across the room. She moved over to him, and he closed his eyes when she got close enough, almost completely sure she was going to slap him.

Instead, her hand softly rested on his check, moving her thumb gently across his skin. He opened his eyes and looked at her, putting his hand over to cradle hers.

"I'm sorry, Lily." He whispered.

Lily blinked and nearly took a step back. One of the first things Peter had told her in Neverland is that no one should ever apologize. She hadn't heard him say he was sorry for anything in all the time she'd been here. Hesitantly, the corners of her mouth lifted and he understood that she forgave him.

"I will never leave you." She looked at him, a determination burning in her gaze. "It's you and me forever."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her suddenly, and lifted her up into the air. The pain and longing from being without him for so long made Lily grab at the back of his shirt, wanting him to be as close to her as possible.

He put her back down, and separated briefly to put a soft kiss on her mouth. "I have something for you," he murmured.

Her eyes looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"In the Enchanted Forest," he laced his fingers around hers, speaking against her neck as they moved slowly, talking but still trying to touch as much of each other as possible. "When I was getting people, I found something for you."

Curiosity prodded at Lily, and she asked, "What is it?"

A new look over took Peter's face and his eyes darkened. "Later," he promised, moved his hands to the back of her neck and crushing his mouth onto hers almost violently, a new promise on his lips.

* * *

><p>"So you just played the music and boys came from all over?" Peter ran his fingers through Lily's hair, gently pulling from scalp to tip. He was leaning against the wall and she had her head in his lap. After their 'activities' they got dressed and Peter relayed the tale of what had happened the night before.<p>

"The enchantment worked fantastically. Only the unloved children could hear the music." She held the pipes in her hands, turning it over and inspecting it over and over, like she might find some physical proof of the magic.

Peter continued telling her how boys frolicked from near and far. He had given them masks and they had danced throughout the night, becoming the free creatures they craved to be.

"How many boys?" She turned her head to face him, staring up at him as he smiled down at her.

"Ten or fifteen." She furrowed her eyebrows. For some reason, she had expected more, "I didn't want to build an army," he teased, catching the look on her face.

"Come on," he propped her head up so he could begin getting into a standing position. He held out his hand to help her up, and she followed him, though she was a little confused.

"We need to get back," he moved through the room, picking up his shirt and slipping it on, the material feeling cool and welcoming on his skin.

"But you start this up at night, its only midday now." Lily asked, though she still tugged on her pants as she awaited his answer.

"I know," he looked at her, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched her struggle to get the shirt over her head, "but I figured you could use a little vacation to the Enchanted Forest." He nearly laughed when she finally got the shirt on and stared at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Really?" She sounded like a child who had been promised a present and wanted to believe it badly but at the same time couldn't believe it to be true.

"Yes, my dear Tiger Lily." He grabbed her arm and tugged her towards him, pecking her on her lips then her nose. "Now hurry up, we have things to do."

A broad grin brook out on her face and she threw her arms around his neck, giving him a tight squeeze and then she ran to the other end of the room to tug on her boots, lacing them up with a new vigor. She threw her ratty side bag over her shoulder; sure she would be bringing back souvenirs. She practically bounced over to Peter, unable to stop grinning.

In truth it made Peter both happy and sad to see her like this. He knew sometimes she longed for the Enchanted Forest, for more people and places and things, even though now he knew that she also absolutely loved being here with Peter. But Peter also knew that sometimes she missed it, and some part of her probably always would. But he knew no matter how much she wanted to visit her old home; she wouldn't trade her new one for anything.

"Ready?" He asked, linking their arms as she grinned up at him, making him smile and push a few hairs behind her ears. She nodded enthusiastically, and this time he didn't contain his laughter.

Peter's magic had grown the past few years, and he barely needed to lift a hand to make the green mist swirl out of the ground and take them away to new adventures.

* * *

><p>They landed with a thump on the ground of a forest. It was the same spot Peter had left from, the cinders from the night's bonfire still smoking in the middle of the clearing. Lily coughed a few times and Peter immediately went over to check on her.<p>

"I'm fine, probably a reaction to realm-hopping," her voice had a joking lilt at the end of it as she attempted to clear her throat. Peter nodded in understanding, rubbing her back soothingly.

When she finally seemed to recover, she blinked a few times as she took in her surroundings. "We're really here," she whispered disbelievingly. Peter smirked as he looked at her, pulling on his patchy coat that she had made for him. He tugged up her hood to fall over her head, and she looked at him questioningly, wondering why he was doing that.

"People will ask questions if they see the ward that disappeared almost ten years ago walking around like a day hasn't passed." He explained, and she looked at him sharply.

"We're in my old town?"

Peter shook his head, "About a mile and a half over, I decided it would be safe to stay a considerable distance away." She understood and he started leading her down eh path into the village.

"Let's have some fun, Tiger Lily." She returned his smirk and grabbed his hand, pulling him along to make them both run and sprint away.

They had to dodge a carriage that came down the pathway, but other than that they arrived into the town without a bump. Peter walked her through the market, watching as she watched everything in awe.

It had been years since Lily had seen anything outside of Neverland, and it was almost too strange to bear. People were not something she was used to, at least not light-skinned, conservatively-dressed people. She watched as everyone milled about all around her, buying and exchanging and trading throughout the square, not a care in the world and not even the faintest notion that the two teenagers standing there were from another world.

Peter tugged at her hand, bringing her over to a merchant. She looked at him in confusion before he gestured to the table and said "Pick one."

She looked at the table and her mouth opened like a fish's. On the craftsman's table was an assortment of jewelry. Everything from chunky necklaces to glitzy diamond rings. Lily wondered how a small-town craftsman got such expensive jewels as she looked down at them. A sparkling mass of colors exploded and twinkled up at her Then she snapped out of her trance and looked sharply at Peter.

"You don't have to keep apologizing to me." She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. He smirked and leaned down to be eye-to-eye with her.

"I'm not apologizing to you. It's a gift, now pick one." He gestured again to the table and a smile broke out on her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gave him a quick peck on the lips and then rushed to the table. Her hands delicately touched and picked up whatever she found beautiful, which was practically everything. Peter watched her from the side, amused as she handled the jewelry almost as carefully as a newborn.

"How much is this?" Lily held a long chain necklace with a flower at the end of it. A Peter further inspected it he grinned at her in an entertained manner. She certainly had a thing for trademarking, didn't she?

"Ah, the Tiger Lily? It's a very good choice, very popular with the couples." He made a knowing motion of his hands towards Peter and Lily, who simply smiled in return. "I think it will suit you very well."

Peter produced a large bag of coins from his pocket and handed it to the jeweler. "Will this do?" He asked innocently.

The man's eyes lit up with greed at the sight of the heavy bag of coins. Peter knew that the necklace would be very cheap in comparison to the other pieces.

"I might need to check that there's enough," he said, his hands already grabbing the pouch and wrenching it open, looking at all the coins inside. Lily, figuring out just what Peter was up to, elbowed him, but his smile stayed plastered on his face.

"Yes, I think that'll be just enough for that necklace. You too enjoy your day!" He called out, no longer looking at them but still counting away at the money inside. Peter took the necklace softly from her fingers, the merchant fading into the background as he stared into her annoyed yet amused eyes. He fastened the necklace around her neck, lifting her hair up to go over it.

"Couldn't you have found a way to pay him with real money?" She exasperatedly asked, an eyebrow raised. Peter swung a hand over her shoulders, pulling her to his side as they walked through the street. She stayed close to his side, enjoying the comfort of him being near, still not quite used to seeing this many people.

"It is real money," he defended, "at least it will be for another hour." Lily shook her head in irritation, but she still couldn't keep the smile off her face. She looked down and picked up the end of the necklace, which hung lowly on her chest. Running it over her fingers a few times, she relished in the feeling of the cool metal against her fingers. When it grew warm from her touching it, she tucked the necklace under her shirt and now only the chain was partially visible. Lily raised her hand up to hold onto to Peter's which was still resting on her shoulder.

"Where to now?" She asked. Peter looked at her but she wasn't looking his direction. Instead, she was watching the people that walked by them as they continued down the street. It was a weird sensation to have rock and stone under your feet after years of grass and leaves and dirt. Lily seemed to be adapting quickly though, knowing when to move if people came near her and to not make eye contact with men, to smile politely at women. Peter didn't know why but he wanted her to stop. It reminded him too much of how she was when he first saw her in that market so long ago.

"Down over this way," they moved forward, arms locked and fingers intertwined. Peter started glancing down at her, gauging her reactions or just loving the way her face lit up at almost everything. She got excited over almost every tiny thing she saw, and her hand kept lovingly running over the chain around her neck. Peter pulled her up to a cake stand.

"I know that even you sometimes grow tired of my food." He whispered to her as her face broke out in a ginormous smile at the pastries and deserts.

"Real food!" She gasped, and proceeded to pick out as many items as she could. Since they came in little paper boxes, she shoved one after the other into her bag, and Peter was quite at a lost for how she managed to fit so much cake in one tiny little place.

The baker gave her amused glances and seemed to find it odd yet funny that such a small-yet-rough-looking young girl seemed to have the urge to buy her weight in cake. But he took their 'money' without questions and wished them a good day.

Lily ate as they walked, Peter's hand finding its way back over her shoulder. They strolled through the streets, stopping to watch street performers for a few moments before carrying on. Lily reveled in the creamy, sweet taste of the cake, which was better than anything she could conjure up in Neverland. She ate slowly, taking her time to savor every bite and taste. She was around her six slice in when she noticed it was getting a little late. Peter noticed the sky getting darker as well.

"We should go," she nodded in agreement and re-wrapped her desert and put it back in her bag, saving it (as well as many other slices) for later. Peter grabbed her hand and pulled her into an alley between two houses. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was peering in before he transported them to the camp.

Lily brought down her hood onto her shoulders as they arrived and walked along the tree line to hide her bag away in a safe place. Peter watched her out the corner of his eye as he got out his pipes and prepared for the night ahead.

Lily returned to his side and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's about dark time now, will you begin?"

Peter nodded and slowly brought the pipes to his lips. As he began his soft melody, Lily's eyes slipped closed blissfully as she let the music wash over her. Peter allowed a smirk to cross his lips as he played. The night before, he had enchanted the pipes to let Lily hear them too, even though she didn't feel unloved. He figured she'd want to hear the music too, and he was not mistaken.

Lily called onto her magic to light the bonfire and started dancing around the flames, laughing and cheering as she let all worried and control leave her mind.

Soon enough, boys followed in. They adorned masks and moved with the music, whooping and prancing around. A few of them grabbed Lily's hands as the danced around the fire, jumping without a care as they laughed and howled into the night.

Peter watched the whole thing with a smirk, the control flowing over him, fueling him. He certainly enjoyed being in power, a little thrill going through him as all these people did what _he _wanted. Peter liked it. He liked having control over everything. A shiver of anticipation went through him as he realized this is what Nevrland would always be like if the boys came home with him and Lily.

He shook his to clear his thoughts, remembering what he had to promised himself to do for Lily before they had come her. He moved through the small crowd to get to her.

She was laughing and twirling around, hands outstretched. When she saw him, she sprang into his arms, kissing him on the neck immediately and without hesitation.

"Whoa, Lily. Lily. Calm down, love," Peter gently set her on the ground and looked her in the eyes, which was hard with her giggling.

"Focus on me for a second, Tiger Lily. Can you do that?" He held her face and they both stared at each other, faces close. Lily was panting from the all the exercise she just went though and slowly, her pupils dilated and she calmed down.

"What is it, Peter?" She asked in a much more rational state of mind.

"Remember your surprise?" He smirked as she tilted her head in confusion. He turned to scan amongst the boys to finally pick one out. The boy was dancing with his mask over his face and hood over his hair. Peter walked forward and grabbed the boy's arm, bringing him over to where Lily was.

"Tiger Lily," Peter brought his hand to the boy's face, which was staring at Lily's, "meet your surprise." Unceremoniously he ripped the boy's mask off.

"Lily?" The voice was deep and almost monotone. The boy seemed almost seventeen years old, but still there was something there…some familiarity that struck Lily, when suddenly it hit her.

She gasped aloud.

"Felix?!"


	7. Chapter 7

Lily took a hesitant step forward, shock evident in her features, surprise written all over her face. She raised her right hand and brought it up to his face, touching his cheek softly. Felix eyes burned into hers, joy shining through them. Though his features had shaped across his face and all his baby fat had disappeared, leaving his face long and almost half-starved, his eyes were still the same gray color. His lips curved upwards in a smile, enjoying her reaction as she stared at him in astonishment.

"Felix!" She cried once more and then abruptly wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight to her. She clutched her long-time friend to her, pulling him as close as possible, like she was convinced that he would disappear if she let go.

Felix wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her to him by her waist, closing his eyes and just relishing in this moment; for years he was sure that he would never see her again, never find her again.

The night of the ball held in her honor was the last time Felix had seen his Lily. Lord Bryant had been furious when she disappeared; sure she'd been kidnapped by bandits or murdered by one of his political enemies. Since none of her things were taken with her, it seemed plausible enough to everyone who heard it. The search parties went on for months, Felix growing more and more worried as time went on. But, as time went on, rumors spread. People claimed to have seen her talking with mysterious figures days before she was gone. Retired servants said that she had been gone for hours on end on the days before she disappeared without a trace, and soon the popular theory was that she ran away.

It had been hell, for Felix, these past eleven years. He had spent a large part of his childhood being part of the search parties, very determined to find his best friend. But life went on, and soon Felix had to go on as well. Though she never was fully gone from him, her warm brown eyes that followed him whenever he would see other girls, her smiles always in his memory to comfort him through hard nights.

And now he was with her again.

He pulled back to look at her again, hands moved up to grasp at her long hair. His fingers tangled in the strands, the feather and the braids. He stared into her face, wondering how in hell she still looked exactly as he remembered her.

"So touching to see two old friends reunited again," though Peter's voice had sarcasm plastered all over it, Lily knew he was being sincere, and she turned her head to look at him while Felix continued staring at her, both of their arms still wrapped around each other. As Lily looked at Peter, affection and love flowed through her, knowing that he had brought Felix to her again. He could tell by the look on her face that she was expressing gratitude to him, and he nodded almost imperceptibly, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Did you find him for me?" She asked, her arms starting to slide down from Felix's neck.

"Technically, he found me," Peter raised his pipes and shook them a little for emphasis, "I recognized him and decided to investigate."

Her smile practically stretched across her face. Lily turned and looked at Felix, who was still watching her, "Have you been with him this whole time?" He asked her.

"Yes," she answered, and moved out of his arms. Behind them, the other boys were still dancing around the fire, oblivious to the touching reunion going on a few feet away.

"How did you stay the same?" Felix's eyes furrowed as he looked at the immortal teenagers with confusion.

"It's a very long story." Lily answered vaguely.

"But thankfully," Peter cut in, stepping forward, drawing the older boy's attention to him, "where we're going we have nothing but time." Lily head whipped around to look at him.

"You mean-?"

"Of course, my dear Tiger Lily." Felix looked puzzled at the nickname, but said nothing. Lily's grin broadened. "I'll go get my bag!" She practically sang with happiness, and skipped over to the tree line, moving to get her things.

As she went, Peter watched Felix carefully, gauging his features as he watched Lily going away. And, a quick judge of character and a lifetime of paranoia gave him the conclusion that Felix was indeed, not over his dear Tiger Lily.

Smirking slightly, Peter didn't feel a rush of anger, or jealousy like he did with Ahanu. He knew that Lily would never leave, especially not for someone she still saw as a six-year-old. And since he was the one who reunited them, and the one who would take Felix to Neverland; the blond boy would always be in his debt. And Peter could definitely use someone working for him.

Lily bounded over to them again, taking both of their hands in hers.

"Boys!" She yelled over the music and ruckus. The teens dancing around the fire started snapping out of their reverie, the girl with the feather in her hair capturing her attention. The night before Peter had promised them all a home, a family in new lands, and now they knew it was time.

"Let's go to Neverland!" She yelled into the night. The Lost Ones cheered at her words, whooping in anticipation. Peter raised his arm, staring down at his love as she looked back at him, glee radiating off her.

"We have a family now," she whispered to him, and he grinned down at her, and the green mist enveloped all of the teenagers in the clearing, carrying them off into the night to go on new adventures. As the mist cleared, Felix, Lily, Peter and all the boys found themselves standing in a vast jungle, most of the boys looking around in wonder, since they had never seen anything but the forest and town.

"Welcome to your new home, boys." Peter reluctantly slipped his hand out of Lily's and stepped forward to greet the boys who now resided on his island.

* * *

><p>Peter and Lily got right to work showing the boys around the island and telling how the magic worked. Peter gave them just a sample of his and Lily's powers from the island by letting them disappear and reappear rapidly, and told them that they would have to make their own houses. Lily warned them of where they should definitely never go (The Echo Caves, Mermaid's Lagoon, and Dark Hollow) and places where they wouldn't be wouldn't be welcome (The Native Village, Skull Rock). She warned them of Dreamshade and showed them what it looked like, but added that it could be extra incentive not to miss during target practice, which made some boys laugh but made Felix just regard her with traces of shock at her callous words. Neverland had definitely shaped Lily into something different than what she once was.<p>

"Neverland is about forgetting what you once were," Peter told them all over the bonfire that night once they had all finished eating their dinner. Deciding that they should ease into Neverland, Peter let them imagine up their food, but tomorrow they would be taught to hunt, to make weapons. "Most of you were given names by the orphanages that found you, strangers who had no idea who you were. So, now I encourage you to throw that old life away by choosing a new name for yourself. Consider it an act of independence and defiance against the life you raised to, the life that raised you and rejected you. But choose wisely, because once you have your names, you don't get to change them."

Peter finished his speech and bid the boys goodnight, nodding for Lily to follow him. She said goodnight to Felix with a kiss on the cheek and then told the rest of the boys to sleep soon, since they'd need plenty of energy for tomorrow. The excitement was clear in their eyes as they drank in her promise, and tried to sleep on the dirt ground with enthusiasm bubbling in their stomachs.

Lily tried to remember where Peter had been walking before he disappeared into the trees but soon gave up and just assumed he went to their treehouse. Only, she was intercepted before she could make her way there by a hand reaching out to pull her to the side.

Acting on impulse, Lily grabbed her knife from her belt and brought it threateningly to the assaulter's neck.

Peter's eyes burned down at her when he felt the cool edge of her blade on his throat, and his grip on her arm tightened when he saw her go into defense position.

"Did I ever tell you how much I like it when you do things like that?" Lily felt the heat from anger slowly fade into another kind of heat as she stared up at him, understanding reaching her from his words.

She tossed the knife to the side and grabbed her hand up to yank his head down, crashing his lips onto hers. He leaned forward, perhaps too much, and they collided into the ground. Peter was careful to not let his head bang into hers, but that was where his caution ended.

Wild, fiery and passionate, they tumbled around the jungle floor, not even bothering to move into their treehouse. Peter had made sure they were a considerable distance from the camp, so they wouldn't have any boys interrupting them, especially Felix, who'd been practically glued to Lily's side all day.

Peter fervently kissed up and down Lily's neck, making her arch up at him and wrap her legs around his waist. When she ground her pelvis against his, he shuddered and arched away for a second, which prompted Lily to grab onto his back and push him down on her, hard. They paused for a second, staring at each other in the eyes, panting and the realization that it had been too long for both of them, and they couldn't wait any longer.

As quick as either of them could, they started pulling off each other's pants, not even bothering with their shirts, just desperate for each other.

They rolled all around that area that night, and it was only a few hours later when they realized they should at least move into the treehouse. They grabbed their clothes and went there in an instant, but they barely got a wink of sleep that night.

* * *

><p>The entirety of the next day was dedicated to making weapons. Most of the boys hadn't decided on names yet, and the ones that had had come forward and told Peter and Lily in an official manner. So far, there had only been two.<p>

Orrin was a tall boy with messy hair and a large build, which he had apparently gotten by doing heavy labor for money. His skin was dark, which was a contrast to Kissit, who was small and pale and a bit of a sycophant, but was Orrin's best friend. Lily knew that the older boys had "playfully" urged Kissit to accept that as his new name, since he had a habit of kissing up to Peter in hopes of being favored. But it didn't matter anyway, if he didn't like the name he could've just picked a new one.

Lily was secretly pleased that Kissit had made a friend in Orrin, because she knew the taller boy could help him get accepted. It seemed too early for them to be getting into group politics, but she knew it was inevitable.

Felix had already opted to keep his name, but so far everyone else seemed to be in the process of choosing their own new one, taking it to be a game, a way to prove themselves to Peter. They all wanted their names to mean something, so they toiled away, carving sticks into spears, making pouches out of leather for slingshots. Felix himself had found a particularly threatening-looking branch with a large knot of wood at the end, and declared it his personal club with a grin.

Lily took a few of the older ones out to hunt when they had finished with their newly finished weapons. Peter had decided to stay back and teach the rest of them how to make huts and houses in the trees for themselves. When they would meet up again the boys would have to mingle amongst themselves and teach each other.

Lily instructed them to walk on the balls of their feet, always alert, and to not step on branches or twigs, lest they alert anything in the forest.

She had chosen her bow and arrow for this hunting trip, so that if any of the boys messed up she could still get the animal with ease, even if it was a considerable distance away.

The boy closest to her, who had a mop of curly hair piled on top of his head, nudged her in the side, careful not to make a noise but also to alert her that there was a pig eating some flower about thirty feet away.

She looked around expectantly, but none of the boys even moved to raise their weapons. Letting out a sigh of annoyance, she notched back an arrow and let it fly, hitting the pig through the eyes all in under two seconds.

The boys looked at her with something akin to awe, but she didn't acknowledge them. Instead, she turned to the boy who had pointed the animal out to her and ruffled his hair, "Nice going, Curly." She praised, causing him to look down to hide his blush. Lily walked over to the pig and threw it over her shoulder effortlessly. None of the boys had yet moved.

"You and you." She pointed to the tallest boys besides Felix. They nearly tripped over each other as they walked to where she was. "You're carrying this." She shoved the pig into their arms and they stumbled but managed to distribute the weight evenly between each other and stood up straight soon again. Lily smirked at their tough act.

"Come on," she gestured with two fingers and soon they all followed after her deeper into the forest.

"You remember how I told you not to go to the Native Village yesterday, right?" She asked the group, and most of them nodded. Lily gestured behind her. "Well, when the trees start getting two times thicker, that's when you know you need to turn around and head back. The thicker trees are because the trees are older, and that's where the Never Ending tribe people live, as they call themselves. They probably don't know that more people are here, and they aren't exactly warm to Peter. But they won't do anything if you stay off their side of the island." The boys acted like they understood, but she knew they wanted to stop learning rules and just go back.

"Let's go," they followed her like ducklings following a mother. Though very rebellious and wild, they seemed to grow tame in the presence of the girl with the feather in her hair.

* * *

><p>They laughed and joked as they made their way back to camp, the boys slowly getting over Tiger Lily's intimidating company, knowing that she was actually quite endeared to all the Lost Boys, even the brutish and rude ones.<p>

The young boy who pointed out the pig told her he wanted his name to be Curly now, and she had to stop walking for a second as she looked at him. The simple action of telling her he wanted his name to be what she called him caused Lily's heart to warm and pride and affection swelled up in her chest. She nodded her assent and he grinned at her and practically bounced back to camp.

The taller boys, whom Lily found out, wanted to be called Fitz and Hopsky. Fitz also wanted to help cut up and cook the pig, since he had been a butcher's assistant before, and Hopsky was his friend, so he offered to help as well. Lily told them that was fine, and moved over to Peter, who was watching some boys cutting fabric with hunting knives to make shirts.

She went to his side and he greeted her by pulling her to his side with an arm snaked around her waist.

"Any developments?" She asked cryptically, and he shoved her playfully in the side, causing her to laugh.

"Yes," he answered. "The boy over there with the red hair is Gully; Twisty is the one over there wrestling with Deadlock. The two boys over there are brothers, Frankey and Edgey. Nibs, Cain and Tootles are over by the fire, trying to see whose best at knife throwing."

Lily told him about the pig on the hunting group, and she informed him who wanted to be called what in that hunting group. He nodded as his eyes skimmed over the crowd, before settling on one loner sitting apart from all the rest, sitting by the fire and staring directly at Lily.

Peter's eyes narrowed at the blond boy, wondering just what it was that he planned to do with Lily now that the two of them were finally together. Intent on finding out Felix's intentions, Peter stood up.

He leaned close to Lily's ear, and her eyes closed at his proximity. "I'll be right back," he promised, and she nodded.

Peter stalked over to the fire, and Felix raised his head slowly to meet his gaze. "We need to talk," Peter said without much explanation, and then walked into the trees without sparing him so much as a glance back to see if he would follow. Peter knew he would follow.

"About what?" Felix asked once they were a substantial distance from the camp. Peter noted that he had left his club back at camp and put his hood down. They were clear signs or either trust or that Felix didn't want to be perceived as a threat.

"Your love for Tiger Lily." Peter spoke bluntly, getting right to the point. Felix blinked, not expecting that.

"What?" he asked, his voice shaking just a little bit. Peter smirked at that, but tried to keep most of his emotions internalized.

"I need to know your intentions with our dear Tiger Lily. She has special place in my heart, you see. If anything should happen to her because of you and your uncontrollable emotions for her, there would be dire consequences." Peter had decided last night that the way to get loyalty from Felix was not to flaunt the love he and Lily had for each other, but to keep it somewhat hidden. If he played the older brother figure, and even sprinkle in a bit of hope for little Felix, things could work out very nicely.

"I don't have any intentions for Lily." He forced out, a mild glare burning into Pan.

"Really?" Peter drawled, clearly not believing a word he said. Peter leaned against a tree, bending one knee to rest his foot against it.

"I don't." Felix defended, and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"But surely that love that you've held for her since you were a child has never left you. Especially now, since you've finally found her again, and she's now your age too. Seems like the perfect plot, Felix." Now he was fully receiving Felix's glare.

"I. Don't. Have. Intentions. For her."

Both of Peter's eyebrows rose as he regarded Felix for a moment. They stood, just staring at each other for a moment, trying to figure out what the other one was playing at.

"Do you trust me, Felix?" Peter finally questioned, shifting slightly on the tree.

Felix hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "Lily trusts you."

Peter smirked at the diplomatic phrasing he'd chosen, "Well, that's hardly an answer."

"What do you want me to say?" He asked.

Peter propelled himself off the tree and appeared in front of Felix, unnerving him, which had been Peter's desired effect. He liked off-putting people.

"It's not what I want you to _say_, Felix; it's what I want you to _do_."

Felix looked at Peter with a large amount of confusion in his eyes. Peter smirked at him, and Peter began to weave his web, starting with the poor boy who in love with the girl who was too in love with someone else to ever consider him.

* * *

><p><strong>oh my god i tried making up names for lost boys someone please stop me from writing ever again.<strong>

**sorry it took me from updating for so long, school and work have been really sorta crazy lately. i have a break from school now for two weeks due to winter break, so i should be updating much more frequently.**

**please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Lily woke up coughing.

It had been around three years since all the Lost Ones had arrived in Neverland, and this wasn't the first time she had had these fits.

She had learned to muffle her coughs in her sleeves, to try and make it to the trees where no one would be so they wouldn't worry. After all, the only thing Lily ever wanted for these boys was to have fun, and having to take care of her wasn't something they desired to do.

But she couldn't control herself this time. She had been sleeping, soundly, when the burning in her throat had come and she'd woken up to her fingers scratching at her neck and Peter shaking her awake.

He'd pried her hands off her neck and pinned them to either sides of her head. Concern, worry and confusion were written all over his face, and he stared down at her while she tried to regain control over her breathing. When the coughing died down and her throat didn't hurt so much anymore, she managed to croak out,

"Water."

Peter nodded immediately, glad he could finally do something to help her. He was gone with a whoosh of air and then reappeared in a moment, holding a wooden cup filled with fresh water. Peter held the cool water up to her lips and then poured, allowing a few gulps to go down her throat.

But apparently it was too quick, because Lily started sputtering and choking on the water. The water felt like it was making icicles down her mouth and in her throat and she spat it out quickly, wanting nothing more than to get it out of her throat. Peter stepped out of the way quickly as she spat out the water onto the floor, his eyes wide in shock. As the water dripped out of her mouth, small splatters of blood littered the floor, tiny droplets coming from her mouth.

Lily's hands shook as she raised her hand to the edge of her mouth. She smeared the blood onto her fingers and lowered them into her line of sight. Her breathing caught as she saw the crimson stains on her hand. A whimper escaped her mouth. Peter was frozen as he saw the blood that had fallen from her lips.

His mind raced as he saw that. It was impossible. There was no way Lily could have any sort of ailment, any illness, injury of any kind. This was Neverland, no one ever got sick, and people didn't get hurt. Not in the middle the night for no reason, at least. And Lily couldn't have anything wrong with her; she had been perfectly fine when they had fallen asleep. Sure, she'd seemed a little tired lately, but Peter had just thought she'd been staying up a little late with the Villagers or something. And no one, ever, ever, got sick in Neverland. Any injury either healed quickly enough or killed you, and there was no way Lily could or would die. Peter wouldn't let her. And she wasn't going to do die, she just wasn't-

"Peter," Lily whispered, breaking him out of his trance. His head snapped down to look at her, then he tossed the cup to the side as he crouched to inspect her further.

"You're fine," he whispered, wrapping his fingers around the back of her head to pull her close to him. Whether his words of comfort were to assure her, or himself, he didn't know. "You're fine, you're fine, you're fine,"

Slowly, he pulled her up by placing another arm under her knees and locking his other arm to cradle her neck. He lifted her into the air, careful not to jostle her too much. She barely let out even a whimper when he did so; in fact she had almost no reaction at all. She simply stared up at his face, arms falling limply at one side.

Peter walked bristly out of the tree house, and flew down softly to reach the ground quietly. He made his way to the horde of tree houses where all the Lost Ones slept soundly into the night, unaware of the panic coming from their fearless leader at the moment.

"Felix!" Peter called out to the tree that Peter was sure was his. A few moments later and the tall figure emerged from his door, looking alert but a little unkempt. He was rubbing the side of his face when he came out. His mouth started to form a question but when he saw the almost unconscious girl in Peter's arms, all questions flew from his mind. Instead of using the ladder, he simply jumped down and rushed over to her. Felix's eyes were bright with fear, and that feeling only intensified when he saw the splatters of blood all around her mouth.

"I need to take her to a healer." Peter's voice broke out into the silence. Felix's head shot up and he stared at him.

"A healer?" Peter nodded in response.

"How long will you be gone?" Felix's voice broke, something Peter wasn't used to. He'd become so relaxed to hearing Felix with either a monotone or a sarcastic lilt to his voice, not this heartbreaking emotion.

"I'll be back midday. Just tell the boys that we had to go check up on something. I don't know. Make something up, Felix." Peter felt his emotions start to take control of him to and he tried desperately to keep himself in check.

He left one last piece of instructions for his second-in-command,

"You can tell Tootles, if you have to."

And then he was gone in a cloud of green mist, leaving Felix alone with his thoughts and worries.

* * *

><p>Peter trudged through the series of houses in the darkened night. He hadn't been here in so long, but it still seemed exactly the same as when he left it. Hopefully <em>she<em> would still be here.

He walked up to one of the doors, and Lily's eyes were starting to droop shut. He nudged her to keep her awake, and moved one of his hands to knock on the door.

A light appeared in the window and a moment later an old woman slowly creaked the door opened, weary to any that might be disturbing her in the middle of the night. Her matted grey hair fell just over her eye, but she still managed to look over his face suspiciously, then she leaned back in realization.

"What trouble have you brought me this time, boy?" Her eyes fell on the girl in his arms. She barely blinked before she said, "Bring her in."

She almost didn't have time to move out of the way before Peter barreled through into the house. The interior was exactly as he remembered it, and he hurried over to the table by the dresser. The old woman followed after him, with vigor in her steps despite her age. She picked up Lily's face by the chin and examined the inside of her mouth, poking her tongue with her finger. Then she opened Lily's eyes wider and peered at them. Peter watched from the other side, wanting to yell at her to hurry up but knowing to hold his tongue. Finally she brought her ear down to listen to Lily's chest, prodding around her torso for a little while.

The next hour was more of a blur for Lily. She vaguely recalled the old woman instructing Peter to get powders and vials from the dresser to the left of the table. She might've had liquids poured into her throat that burned all the way to her stomach, but she wasn't sure. The old lady might've rubbed some sort of mud over her neck and down around her chest, but then again, she might not have. All she knew for sure is that when she woke again it was morning and her shirt had been ripped open at the top and she smelled like peppermint and dirt.

Peter sprung up from a chair he'd been sitting in when she woke up. It was obvious he hadn't slept, and he touched her cheek softly when he was close enough. "How're you feeling?"

Surprisingly, Lily felt fine, wonderful even. Her throat had always been sore since they traveled to the Enchanted Forest that first time, and it only got bad every now and then. But it didn't even tickle now. She felt renewed.

"I'm great," she smiled up at him, reaching over and squeezing his hand. When he looked relieved enough, Lily started to sit up and look around the small house. The actual structure itself looked old and worn, the walls decaying and cracking, the floorboards different colors and creaky. But the furniture was well-kept and polished, all of the things taken care of.

"Where are we?" She asked him, and he motioned for her to scoot over on the table. She obliged him and he took a seat next to her on the table.

"I should have told you about this place a long time ago, but I have been rather secretive about myself since we've been together." He stroked her hand with his thumb, and Lily's curiosity only peaked the more he spoke. "This place…it's where I grew up."

"My father wasn't much of a good man. As far as my mother told me, he would spend his days away from us as much as possible, and he'd gamble all of our money away. After my younger brother was born though, he left and never came back."

"You have a brother?" Shock didn't exactly describe what Lily was feeling at that particular moment. Peter nodded.

"We did everything together when we were younger. He followed me around and I loved him. I tried to teach him about the world, so he wouldn't grow up naïve, but I could never snuff out his infuriating optimism." A small smile flittered onto his face, lost in his memories. Lily didn't want to interrupt him, but felt she should keep him going.

"Is the woman from last night your mother?"

Peter's head snapped to look at her, but not in an angry or cruel way. He stared down at her, wondering how she was taking this news. "Yes," he answered.

"She was a healer for our village, but soon the grief of father leaving ate away at her. My brother and I had to work to keep ourselves alive. He apprenticed with some spinsters, spinning for them, while I became a thief. I didn't have any special talents that would earn money, so I'd steal other people's money. My brother knew about it and didn't like it, said it was wrong. We fought about it all the time, and one day he sabotaged me so I was caught. They carted me to jail and I stayed there for three years. It was then that I first came to Neverland. I would see it in my dreams and I fell in love with it. Every night I would fly and dance and play on the island, but then I would wake up and I would still be in a jail cell." Peter paused to clear his throat. "After three years though, I found a window of opportunity and I managed to escape, the guard passed out from too much drink. I ran home, sure that I'd finally see my family again. Instead, my mother was alone, working by herself. I found my brother with the spinsters, now older. He'd left our mother, left her to fend for herself so he could be the talented little spinner." Peter spat out the words, anger shaking his voice.

Lily rubbed his shoulder, knowing that there really was no way to comfort him.

"I yelled at him, tried to make him see what he'd done, and he begged my forgiveness. But he wouldn't return to our mother. When the guards started looking for me, the spinsters gave us a magic bean so we could travel to a new land where we could start over, together. When I told him to go pack, I stole the magic bean, and went to Neverland, without him. Every decade or so I check in on mother, which is a miracle that she hasn't died from her age yet, but I haven't seen my brother since." He finished the story with a note of finality, finally pushing off the table and walking away, his back to Lily.

If she had been facing him she might've seen the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

"Rumplestiltskin," he spoke quietly, but she heard him anyway. "His name was Rumplestiltskin, but he was always just Rumple to me."

"Peter," Lily spoke quietly, not entirely sure to respond to that tale. Peter had been pretty secretive when it came to his past. He gave hints, and Lily had always had a sort of general idea of what had happened, but she'd never been given the full picture.

He turned around and faced her, cupping her face with his hands, an almost reverent look on his face. "I lost them," he whispered. "I lost all of them, but I will never. Lose. You." They both closed their eyes as he rested his forehead against hers. Lily's mind was still reeling. She didn't know what was wrong with her, why all this had happened, and a large part of Peter's life had just been revealed to her.

"I see she's awoken." A scratchy sort of voice broke the two of them apart. They both looked over to the old woman who had just emerged from her room. She'd placed her hair in a frizzy grey bun and was looking at the two lovers with a look of almost approval.

"Do you know what happened to her?" Peter asked, a hint of desperation hidden by the nonchalance in his voice, but the two females knew him better than that.

Peter's mother moved slowly across the room and began putting the vials and mixtures from last night away. "From what I understand of Neverland's magic, which isn't much mind you, you've been living off it since began living there, correct?" She looked at the raven haired girl, who nodded quickly, the urge to please the woman who mothered Peter coming to her.

"Well, it seems like Neverland is running out of magic." The teenagers blinked, not reacting for a moment. They were both too stunned.

"What?"

"That's impossible!"

"Neverland can't just _run out _of magic."

She brushed off their cries of indignation with a wave of her hand. "Allow me to explain."

Feeling like she was about to hear another really long story, Lily got comfortable on the table.

"Neverland is one of the eldest realms, which means the magic keeping it alive has to run out sometime. Your pretty girl here," she gestured to Lily, which made the girl pleased that she called her pretty, but a little irritated that she was referred to as 'your girl here', "has her very life force lied to the magic of Neverland. The island, to some extent, knows that it's dying so its going to suck of all of her energy, magic and life to keep the Neverland going again."

Lily's jawed dropped. "What?"

She was given a sympathetic look. "That's what it appears to be. Peter told me you left Neverland a few times since you've been there, which is what started these reactions. Your body's been so closely tied to the island; every time you leave it has to take a surplus amount of energy when you come back."

Lily had to put her hand over her mouth to muffle her sounds of horror. "Am I going to die?"

She paused in her cleaning, giving the question a moment's consideration. "I might have a solution."

* * *

><p>Peter kept Lily tight at his side as they stared at the tent in front of them. Per Mother Pan's instructions, they'd gone to see a fortune-teller, or 'seer', apparently. Lily suspected that Peter's mother just didn't know how to help her, but wanted to, so she sent them to see someone who could look into the future. But the patchy and multi-colored tent gave her bad vibes, and the noisy wind chimes didn't help. Peter didn't look like he was entirely convinced either.<p>

"Will you get offended if I say that I'm not sure I trust your mother?" She asked him. He gave a teasing smile and a mock-shove, though was careful with her slowly healing condition.

"Come on," he led her towards the large tent where they assumed the 'seer' was. Just before Peter could move the drapes to look inside, the curtains were pulled aside with a swoosh. A woman who certainly looked the part of a fortune-teller stood in front of them. Her fingers had large rings on each one, and she wore a lacey shawl over a plum dress that had been patched up with different fabrics on almost every inch. Her hair had beads and feathers erratically on each side, which made Lily finger the single red feather that was tied into her own hair. The woman's blue eyes were lined thickly with kohl and she stared down at them. Suddenly, a warm smile broke out onto her face.

"Come in, at once!" She gestured them into the large tent, which was illuminated by candles. She sat them down on a pile of pillows in the corner, and smiled when they turned down her offer of tea.

"You come looking for help, do you not?" She asked once she had settled herself into her chair facing them. Lily nodded at the woman, finding her quite interesting.

"I could sense your problems when you were carried into our realm." The seer spoke slowly. The sentence alone was what convinced Lily and Peter that this woman was indeed a seer, or a very good fortune teller at the least.

"It's a problem inside, is it not?" The woman gestured to her chest, particularly to her heart, and Lily, too stunned to speak, nodded.

"Let me see," she held out her hands, and Lily leaned forward to put her hands over the woman's. All at once the two felt a rush of magic course through them from the other. It felt cold and foreign and left Lily with shivers. Peter watched the exchange from behind her silently.

The seer began mumbling under her breath, her eyes squeezed shut as she grasped at her hands. Lily felt images and sights and sounds passing over her vision and she realized that she was going over all of Lily's memories, she was reading through her life so she could see her death, or at least how to prevent it.

With a gasp, the seer pushed Lily's hands away as if she'd been shocked and fell into her chair with heavy breaths. Lily too, was affected. She was panting, but Peter was rubbing calming circles on her back and holding her close to him.

"There is only one way to save you, Tiger Lily," she spoke gravely, her voice lowered a few octaves. Peter leaned forward towards her, desperate for the answer.

She paused, wondering if maybe she could help avoid the inevitable bloodshed that would come with the answer she gave them. Finally, she decided against it and answered honestly.

"The Heart of the Truest Believer."

* * *

><p><strong>god, its taken me a while to finally start introducing the season 3 plot, and we've still got like ten chapters until we actually start that plot line!<strong>

**but, i am glad to finally start divulging into Peter's backstory. i couldn't make him rumple's dad, i just really hated that storyline, so i tweaked it a bit. and plot twist! pan's not dying, LILY is the one who's dying. figured i'd mix it up a bit.**

**i was going to make this one go a little bit further, but i have to sleep. i'll probably have the next one up by tomorrow. **

**also, expect everyone's favorite pirate to be showing up very soon ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

"What's the Heart of the Truest Believer?" Lily turned to Peter in case he might know, but he seemed just as lost as she was.

"Your home is dying," the seer whispered hoarsely. Peter, getting impatient, rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we know that already, what can we do to fix it?" The woman looked at him sharply, not appreciating his tone.

"You must find the Heart of the Truest Believer, and sacrifice it over her. Only their heart has enough magic to keep her alive if the island continues to leech off her. Without it, Tiger Lily will die." She spoke gravely. She had seen a future were the Heart wasn't obtained, and it frightened the woman. She had watched as Tiger Lily's body had fallen into itself, until she finally had become nothing more than a cloud of dust.

"How can we find the Heart of the Truest Believer?" Peter inquired, leaning forward, his hand moving from Lily's back to rest on his knees.

The seer noticed the slight hint of malice in his tone and she came to the realization that this boy would do anything, hurt anyone without care, for this girl. She tilted her head in understanding. She pulled a piece of parchment off of a desk and brought along a feather to write with as well.

"I cannot tell you where to find the owner of the Heart," she mumbled as she scribbled away on the paper, making lines and sketches, "but I can give you a drawing of him."

She worked furiously in the candlelight, scratching the feather almost violently across the paper. The only time she stopped was to stab the feather into an ink bottle. Peter waited impatiently while Lily kept quiet. She mulled over the news of her salvation silently. She always had a strong survival instinct, but this sounded like murder. And while Lily could condone murder in certain situations, she couldn't approve of it in innocents. Especially if it was for her sake alone.

When the seer finished drawing, she blew on the drawing a little to help it dry, but then shoved it at Peter who took it eagerly. His eyes raked over the drawing greedily, and Lily stood to get a better look at it. From what she could see, it was a young boy. He had hair falling over his forehead, and he looked like almost any normal boy.

"Be careful, Peter Pan. The path you go down is dark one." The seer warned him, making Lily's eyes light up with worry. Peter wasn't paying attention though.

"I hope you live, Tiger Lily." She spoke bluntly, but Lily appreciated the statement nonetheless. She gave her a smile and a nod of gratitude.

"Thank you for your help," Lily tried to say her parting words to the kindhearted woman who had helped them, but Peter pulled her out before she could finish her sentence.

* * *

><p>Peter had told Lily to wait outside of his mother's hut so he could discuss some things with her. He assured her that he would tell her everything he said, but his mother might be less likely to speak candidly if she was there.<p>

So Lily was left leaning on a tree around fifteen feet from the house. She amused herself by drawing letters in the dirt. First, her name; then Peter's name; then she tried writing out all of the Lost Boy's names, but she found that she had forgotten the names of the ones from the very beginning. She stopped writing, a wave of sadness washing over her. Over the past few years, they'd lost so many boys, and so many new ones had come, it seemed so hard to keep track.

Of course, even though they didn't age, the Lost Boys were hardly immortal. They could die, and sometimes there were the inevitable accidents. And, of course, sometimes there weren't.

Murders weren't common on Neverland, but it did happen every now and then. Tensions rose, some boy would say something to offend someone else, or there'd be some misunderstanding or miscommunication. Sometimes a fight would just get out of hand and then they'd be short one more member of their ensemble. Peter never discussed the death when someone was killed by another member. Even when it wasn't proven, both Peter and Lily knew. The killer was never punished, but when Peter would travel to get a new member to replace the one who was murdered, he wouldn't return with just one, but two new boys. At first they were confused as to why he did it, but soon the more astute boys figured it out and told the other ones. Peter expected another boy to need replacing soon enough; he expected the murderer to be dead soon.

And it always happened. Maybe it was the same person who would avenge the victim, or maybe someone new did it each time. But sooner or later the murderer would find themselves alone from the group, and then their body would be found alone amongst the trees. They'd be buried in the Graveyard, and everyone would eventually forget their name, as Lily had realized she was now.

It wasn't like she actively went out of her way to remember the names of all the Lost Ones, but it still hurt that there were many she couldn't place a name to the face or vice versa.

Figuring she would have to visit the Graveyard and look at the names etched into the stones there in hopes that it would jog her memory, Lily tried to stop tormenting herself with these thoughts of guilt.

The door on Peter's mother's house swung open. Lily found that thought a bit unsettling as well. Having a mother didn't suit Peter; it went against everything he seemed to be. But she supposed she wouldn't have to get too used to the thought, as she most likely wouldn't see the woman that often.

Peter stepped out of the door and peered around the area, trying to locate Lily with his eyes. When he saw her sitting against a tree, her fingers stained with dirt, he smirked. Peter strolled over to where she was, their eyes locked with each other the whole time. When he reached her she stuck up her hand expectantly, and an amused smile appeared on his lips. He laced their fingers and tugged her up gently, still careful as she appeared to have been in dire condition just last night.

"She says you have to drink this," he held up a bottle of blue liquid, "and all your symptoms shall disappear."

"How long do I have left?" She asked quietly, resigned. Peter put a finger under her chin to lift her face so she would meet his eyes.

"I will find this Heart, and you will be fine, forever." He pressed the bottle into her hands, but she still looked at him stubbornly.

"How long?" She repeated. Peter sighed.

"It's hard to tell, apparently. She guesses another hundred years, maybe more, maybe less." Lily nodded, a strange amount of calm washing over her. She had hoped for much more, but it wasn't like she could ask for longer. She had already spent so long with her love; most people didn't get what she had gotten.

Peter, on the other hand, was less accepting of this fate. While Lily was learning to accept the fact that she would die for Neverland, Peter refused to let her have such a fate. He was look for the boy in the picture, and he would never stop until he found him. He watched as Lily downed the blue potion, and then pocketed the bottle for later use.

He only nodded when Lily told him, "Let's go home." His mind was already formulating a plan for her, for him, for their future. For the future of Neverland.

Felix was by her side almost immediately when they returned. His eyes were bright with relief as he looked her over. She was a far cry from how she had looked the night before. Her cheeks were no longer sullen and pale, the blood had been wiped of her face, and her hair wasn't sticking to her skin in sweaty tangles. She looked much healthier, thanks to the drink Peter's mother had provided.

The Lost Ones started surrounding her too, poking at her arms to test for illness. They all asked if she was dying.

Peter gave Felix an irritated look. "I thought I told you to only tell Tootles."

Felix shrugged, "And Tootles told everyone."

Peter turned to the youngest Lost Boy, who suddenly found the jungle floor very interesting. He looked at their leader slowly, hoping that his expression reflected one of perfect innocence.

Lily laughed at the display, finding the whole thing ridiculous and hilarious. "Oh, leave him be, Peter. I'm fine now, so there's no harm done, right?" She raised an eyebrow to him.

He hid his amused smile with an irritated expression, but Lily (of course) saw right through it. "I'll let it go _this time_."

Lily grabbed the arms of the two nearest Lost Boys, tugging them away from the clearing. "Didn't I promise to teach you all how to use a spear today, anyway?" A few of them let out excited cheers, and they all hurried after the girl, as she had started running, racing towards the target range.

Felix hung back with Peter, knowing something was on his leader's mind. "What is it?" He asked.

Peter turned to Felix, hand resting on his belt. "We're going to start looking for a new Lost Boy, so enough. And not just in the Enchanted Forest. We have to check every realm now."

"Check?" Felix's voice took on a confused tone, "Are we looking for a specific boy?"

"Yes," Peter answered quickly. He unfolded the crinkling paper, revealing the face the seer had drawn. "Lily will die if we never find this boy." He explained.

Felix's eyes shot up to Peter's urgently. "She'll die?"

Peter nodded solemnly. "The sooner we find him the better."

* * *

><p>"You have been gone for a few days, little Tiger. It was strange to spend so much time without you." Ahanu and Lily walked around in the woods together, both crouched and spears at the ready.<p>

"I had some business that needed taking care of." She spoke cautiously, not meeting his eyes. She played it off as if she was focused on finding the boar they were hunting.

Ahanu laughed, thinking it must not be something that serious. "So cryptic, little Tiger! Is it a secret, then, what you were doing?" He nudged her playfully and her mouth twitched as she fought off a smile. She shushed him and then started walking forward carefully, mindful of where she stepped.

"Yes, it is a secret, Ahanu."

"You are almost a tribe member, Tiger Lily, maybe you should spend more time with the tribe." Lily turned to look at Ahanu after he spoke.

"_Almost _a tribe member? After all this time? I figured I was one already. What else do I have to do to become one?" She joked, but Ahanu looked at her seriously. She turned back around to continue hunting, putting his somber words and expressions out of her mind.

Behind her, now too far away for her to hear, Ahanu spoke quietly to himself, answering her question. "You'd have to marry one."

They continued on their hunt together, both silent and watchful as they stalked after the prize boar. They'd been following it most of all day and as the sun started going down Lily realized she was going to need a torch or a light of some sort if they ever hoped to catch it in the dark. She was just about to ask Ahanu if they could stop so she could come up with a plan, when they were interrupted.

A figure ran out of the trees, screaming, "Li-i-i-ily! Ti-i-i-i-i-i-iger Lily!"

"Yes, all right!" She ran up to the figure that was a couple feet away. She shouldered her bow as she reached him. It was one of the Lost Boys.

"Rufio? Yes, what is it?" He looked relieved to have finally found her.

"Tiger Lily! Pan needs you, now. I'm supposed to find you and bring you back." Lily sighed, but was relieved herself. She enjoyed spending time with Ahanu, but she was starting to get tired.

"Think you can find this boar on your own?" She conversed in the native language, leaving Rufio a little confused as he looked on, waiting patiently for her to finish up her business with the Never Ender.

"I can manage," Ahanu replied, and shooed her along. She sent him a mock-angry look, and turned to start walking towards the other side of the island with Rufio, who marched loyally by her side.

Once they had reached a considerable distance from the native's side of the island, Rufio stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"There was actually a favor I wanted to ask of you." Rufio spoke quietly, which was surprising for him. He'd been picked up a few years ago, and he fit into Neverland quite quickly. He was outspoken, but very loyal to Peter, like most of the boys. He was also a very ruthless fighter, and one of the best hunters they had. He must not have been used to asking people for favors, especially not girls.

"Peter didn't ask for me, did he?" He shook his head.

"What is it, Rufio?" Lily asked.

He produced out a long white feather from his pocket, still in pristine condition despite being carried around in his pocket all day. He seemed to struggle with the words to say that wouldn't compromise his masculinity.

"I was wondering if there was something you could do for me."

The realization dawned over Lily and a smile overtook her face. "Oh, of course Rufio! But let's gets back to camp for now, I'm sure Fitz is cooking up something delicious."

* * *

><p>It was a strange sight indeed, the one Peter walked in when he came into the clearing that night for dinner. Rufio, one of the tallest and toughest Lost Boys was sitting stock still in front of Lily, chewing on his chicken quietly as she worked a feather into his hair.<p>

And, by the looks of it, Rufio wasn't the only one. At least half of all the boys were either gathering feathers or sitting nearby with feathers in their hands, ready to have them bound into their hair too. It was probably the oddest thing Peter had seen since they'd had all of their Lost Ones, but he had no doubt that one day he would see odder.

He sat and ate as he watched her. Unlike most people, Lily didn't work quietly. She chattered on with the Lost Boys as she worked diligently, but she would look up, and her fingers would continue to move without her looking. Within in a minute or so, she had finished with Rufio. She tugged on the feather to test it (causing Rufio to wince in pain) and grinned when the feather stayed in place. She beckoned the next boy to come along so she could do his.

For almost the rest of the night, that was what she did, and every boy would leave laughing and tugging at the feather in their hair. When she finished, Lily's fingers were sore but she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

To celebrate this popular new trend that all the boy's had bound into their hair, Peter brought his flutes up to his lips and started playing. The boys that weren't already dancing around the fire began to, grabbing sticks and drums to play and bang on as they jumped and played around. Lily laughed joyfully as she watched them all, just content to watch everyone dance tonight. Though she still felt the familiar pull on her legs to get up, she just ignored it and sat quietly on her log, unsubtly watching Peter as he moved around with the Lost Boys.

"How about me?" She looked up to see Felix, who was holding two brown feathers. She smirked at him as quirked up an eyebrow. Lily patted the ground in front of her and he obediently sat. He handed her the feathers and pointed to where he wanted them (behind his left ear) and she began working.

They didn't speak as Lily pulled and knotted his hair around the feathers, but they didn't feel that awkward. Felix stared out at the fire, and to his dancing companions. Just as Lily was finishing, a thought struck her and she started looking in her pockets. Felix noticed that she wasn't messing with his hair anymore and turned to look at her.

"Turn back around," she instructed, as she pulled four different beads out of her pockets. Sometimes the Lost Boys would give her and Peter things that they had in their pockets from their old homes, and it just so happened that four times they had brought beads with them. She slipped the beads onto the feathers, and then made little knots underneath them to keep them from slipping off.

She tugged on the feathers and then beamed, "All done." She announced. His fingers immediately went up to the feathers, and they found the beads quickly.

He looked at her inquisitively. "You didn't give anyone else beads." He stated, but it sounded like a question.

She shrugged it off. "I'm allowed to show a little favoritism every now and then, aren't I?" A grin worked its way onto his face, and he stood.

"Let's dance, Tiger Lily."

Smiling broadly, glad she could enjoy her life while she still had it, she agreed to dance wholeheartedly.

* * *

><p>"This is the only way I'll ever let you hunt with me again." Lily spoke sternly at the boy. Nibs gulped nervously.<p>

"But Tiger Lily! You could…die." The last word was whispered, as if even speaking of Lily dying was taboo.

Lily rolled her eyes at his squeamishness. This was a rite of passage. Or at least, it was now. Nibs was a horrible shot. Lily had tried over and over to try and get him to learn how to use weapons, and while he was horrible at the bow and arrow, he was better at it than anything else. Most of the other boys flourished with spears or knives or just using their fists when it came to fighting. But not Nibs. Since Lily's specialty was the bow and arrow, she took it upon herself to get him to learn, since no boy was brave enough to ask her to teach them. Nibs had gotten considerably better in the last few weeks, but she felt she had the perfect test to perfect him.

"I won't _die_, Nibs. Now notch back your arrow." He reluctantly complied.

"Wait, actually, come here a second." He stopped and walked over and she gestured for him to give her the arrow. She pulled a small pouch from her side and then opened it and dipped the tip of the arrow in it. When she pulled the arrow out of the pouch, it was coated in a black powder.

"Dreamshade," she said happily. "Deadliest plant on the island."

"You just keep that on you?!" Nibs whispered incredulously.

"It comes in handy," Lily shrugged, "and you'll use it now so that way you'll be less inclined to miss." She handed back the arrow but he continued to look at her, wide-eyed.

"You're insane."

"Motivated," she corrected. Then she walked to where her back was against a tree. Feeling the rough bark against her back, Lily pulled an apple out of her pocket and rested in atop her head.

"Notch back your arrow." She instructed. Nibs moved slowly, keeping eye contact with her the whole time, his shaking fingers betraying his nervousness.

"Relax," she spoke soothingly, "now take your stance." Nibs shifted his feet into the perfect position, just as she had taught him. He took three deep breaths, knowing that if he even made the tiniest scrape against Lily's pale skin, Pan would have his head. Most of the other Lost Boys probably would kill him too.

He released the arrow, and it whizzed through the air. Lily resisted shutting her eyes, but she could help but blink when it landed just above her head. At first, she thought that he had hit the apple, but she still felt the weight of it on her head. He'd hit about an inch to the left of it.

Nibs let out a breath of relief, and then it became a loud fit of laughter. "I didn't kill you! Oh thank the gods!" He rested his hands on his stomach as he waited for his breathing to become more controlled and his relieved laughter to die down. Lily watched him with an amused look on her face, one eyebrow raised.

"Again," she instructed when he had calmed down. He looked at her again like she was insane. "We're not stopping 'till you hit it." She paused, adding an afterthought, "or 'till you hit me."

Eyes widening in panic at the thought, Nibs notched back another arrow and tried to swallow his anxiety. He spent a little bit longer tried to find the right place to put his feet, but when he did, he let the arrow fly almost immediately.

This time, he actually hit the apple.

Lily let out a dazzling smile when she heard the sound of arrow cutting through apple. She also let out her own small breath of relief. Just because she believed Nibs could do it, doesn't mean that she hadn't been the least bit worried that her own forehead would be impaled to the tree with the apple.

She ducked out from underneath the apple and went to stand by Nibs, looking at it. He'd managed to hit it right in the middle of the red fruit, and he couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"I guess you can come on the hunting trips now, Nibs." She said affectionately, ruffling his hair for good measure. He tried to escape her hand, protesting that he didn't like it when people touched his hair, but she ignored him.

"Come on," she grabbed his arm and started to lead him back to camp, "we need to go back to camp so you can brag about this to everyone."

He simply smiled and didn't deny her words.

* * *

><p>"Guess who got Nibs to be a marksman today?" Peter looked up at the sound of her voice. He had been sitting up on a rock as all of the Lost Ones milled around the fire, either eating or talking or carving something or sharpening their weapons. A few of them were even sparring over on the other side of the clearing.<p>

"What, really?" His voice had just a touch of disbelief in it. When she smirked at him in response, his mouth opened in surprise. "Are we talking about the same Nibs here, because the one I remember couldn't hit a target when it was a meter in front of him."

Lily shrugged modestly, "I guess I'm just the best teacher in all of the worlds then." She then sighed, as if this title was a horrible burden she had to bear.

"That you are, love," and he pulled her by the arm to sit on his lap. She laughed, a clear, free sound that held no malice and no restraint. It was the nicest sound he'd heard in a long time. She didn't laugh as much as she used to anymore.

As the realization that she was sitting on his lap in front of everyone came over her, Lily began looking at him, a little confused. They were never affectionate in front of the Lost Boys. They just weren't. Lily wasn't entirely sure why, it was sort of an unspoken rule, and she had just gone along with it. She supposed maybe Peter didn't want their romance advertised to all who could see, but that didn't really make much sense. After all, Peter could get very possessive of her at times.

Hesitantly, she brought her hand up and ran it over his hair by his face. He watched her silently, and then tightened his grip on her waist.

No one seemed to be paying attention to them, and even if they were it wasn't like that would distract the two. Most of the Lost Boys either already knew that the two were together, or at least suspected it. The only one who couldn't have ever realized it, too blinded by his own love for Lily, was Felix.

And since this was the first time they'd shown any evidence of love (at least the romantic kind of love) to each other, Felix felt the realization smacking him in the face as he saw the two.

At first, there was a great deal of anger. Not at Lily, but at Pan. He must've been in love with Lily this whole time, yet he still led Felix on, giving him little bit of hope all this time, when he was really trying to snatch her up for himself. Maybe giving Felix hope had actually been a plan to keep him a slight distance away, so Pan could swoop in and steal her himself.

But then, as he tried to control himself so he wouldn't go insane, club-swinging wildly as he bashed Pan's head into that rock, Felix forced himself to see reason. Lily didn't love him, at least not like that. If they had been together for so many years already and she had never once thought of him in that manner, it seemed likely that she never would. And Felix was going to have to accept that.

Despite his hatred of Pan bubbling in his stomach, he knew he have to stay completely loyal to him. It would just be stupid to give up his position of second-in-command simply because he was jealous of Pan. Lily could be with whomever she wanted, that was her choice, and Felix would just have to deal with it. It was possible she didn't even know that he loved her in that way.

And just because she never would love him like that, doesn't mean that he would ever stop loving her.


	10. Chapter 10

The day that changed everything began quite ordinarily. Lily got up with Peter; they grabbed breakfast, gave some of the boys instructions to do this or that, and then headed towards the lagoon for a bath.

Baths weren't common among the Neverlanders, or any sort of general cleaning. Since it was island full of boys, and the whole point was that they could do what they wanted, bathing became much less necessary. Lily knew that the Never Ender tribe had been known to bath on occasion, but they usually weren't too fond of the whole process, only a few did it frequently.

But every now and again, Lily fancied herself a bath; something to get all the dirt and grim and animal blood off her skin and out from under her fingernails. And she happened to very much fancy Peter when he was naked and dripping with soap, so she had him tag along whenever she went.

They always liked to bathe in Mermaid's Lagoon, since the beach was much too open, Crocodile Cove was completely out of the question, and mainly because Mermaid's Lagoon had the cleanest and clearest waters, save the spring on top of Dead Man's Peak. The mermaids, being too weary of Peter and not trusting enough towards Lily, steered clear of the area whenever the couple decided to go. The mermaids knew that Pan and Lily were the most powerful beings in Neverland, and avoided them at all costs. Besides that one encounter with Andrina, Lily hadn't seen a mermaid since.

They undressed quickly after they arrived and Peter made a bar of soap appear with a wave of his hand. Lily untied her hair from the long braid it was in and tugged to make sure her feather would stay in place then dove into the water, enjoying the warm liquid as it enveloped her. She waded into the water for a little while, smiling when Peter followed after her. She ignored him for a moment, but then let out a squeal when he grabbed her foot and pulled her under the water.

She shoved at him, her natural defenses mixing with the playful shoves she reserved for Peter coming in. He smirked even under the water, though she couldn't see it.

They both resurfaced, laughing and splashing each other, spending almost an hour there before they remembered to actually use the soap. By that time their fingers had gone wrinkly, but the Lagoon's water still felt warm under the warm Neverland sun.

"I'm happy, Peter," she said as he massaged her scalp, working out the bits of dirt with the soap and water.

"I know," he replied confidently. She nudged him with her elbow, but it only served to broaden his smirk.

"I'm glad we've had our little eternity together," she stated a few minutes later, when they had gotten quiet again. Taking into account the quiet seriousness she had put behind her words, Peter turned her around to face him.

"Our eternity will never end, my dear Tiger Lily." He assured her with gravity in his voice.

"All things must end, Peter." She whispered.

Peter's breath shook and he pulled her in close, connecting their foreheads and he held her to him, the move gentle and vulnerable. He was frightened; frightened that she may end up leaving him. But even more than he was frightened he was determined.

"We will never end," he swore, "I won't allow it." Lily opened her eyes and stared up at his closed eyes. He might've said 'we' but she heard 'you.'

She sighed, not wanting to argue about this. She turned back around and didn't say anything. Peter hesitated before going back to washing the soap out of her hair. His fingers felt therapeutic as he massaged her scalp, and that combined with the warm water made Lily forget about her troubles for just a few minutes, just enjoying the happiness she felt now.

Lily knew her time was slowly being used up. She wished she had some sort of hourglass to help her know just when her time was up, but unfortunately she was left with the ignorance of the time of her own death. It was the not knowing that was the most maddening thing about this. But knowing that at any time the island could take the last bits of her life away, just kill her right there, that was what scared her the most. She wasn't afraid of dying; she'd made peace with that. She was afraid of leaving Peter behind. She didn't know when she would go, so she might have to leave when he wasn't ready. If he would ever be ready.

"Come on," Peter whispered in her ear when he was finished. They clambered out of the lagoon and magically dried themselves off. As Lily tugged on her pants and tied the drawstrings together, she felt something tug at the back at her mind, a feeling she hadn't felt in a very long time.

She looked up sharply at Peter, who was just as alert as she was.

"Someone's in Neverland again." She whispered, eyes wide.

* * *

><p>Killian Jones, or Captain Hook as he was now called, was not exactly happy to be back in Neverland. Being the place his brother has met his untimely doom, Hook held no joy at seeing the tropical island. But, he was on a mission, so he ordered his crew to sail the ship forward.<p>

While he may not like the island, he knew what grew on it. Dreamshade, one of the nastiest poisons there was. Hook had seen the effects of such a poison take place right in front of him. He knew there was no way to he could exact his revenge on the powerful Rumplestiltskin was through magic. It would be an easy mission, he thought. Dock on the island, go up the mountain, cut off a branch and then return home. Easy as cake.

"Keep her steady," he told his crew. The ones around him nodded and continued working, but they still exchanged uneasy glances. It seemed that they all had noticed the ominous storm clouds that had suddenly appeared. Killian noticed them too, but tried to keep his worried out of his mind, he was too far along now to be nervous.

The island became bigger and bigger in his vision, and he felt himself almost getting excited. They were almost there, he was another step closer to getting that crocodile, and soon revenge would be his.

His optimism was cut off by one of his crew yelling out in pain.

Hook whirled around, and was shocked to see that his crew was being attacked by people in hoods. More and more climbed over the sides of the ship, bearing spears, knives, swords. All coated with a black liquid Hook knew all too well about.

His anger overtook his confusion and he grabbed for his sword, rushing into the heat of battle. To his left, he saw Smee ducking down below to hide. Killian's sword clashed and sparred with one of the hooded they were, they fought exceptionally well; they must have been trained for years. Imagine Hook's shock when his opponent's hood fell and revealed the snarling, youthful face of a boy.

"What….?" Hook stopped in surprise, and to his luck, when he stopped it was the exact moment Peter and Lily appeared in the middle of the deck.

"If you'd be so kind as to stop, boys," Lily said sweetly. Despite her talking softly, the boys all immediately halted their weapons, kicking down their attackers when they moved again. Hook looked over in shock as he recognized the children from his first visit to the island. They hadn't aged a day, despite so many years having gone by.

"Now, who is the captain of this _beautiful _vessel?" Peter asked, running his fingers up the rope that was hanging by him. Killian swallowed angrily, considering lying or not speaking up. But it didn't even matter, because the boy's green eyes found his and then his lips spread into a cruel smirk as he recognized him through all the leather and kohl and jewelry.

"Lieutenant Jones!" He greeted cheerfully, and Lily's head snapped to the side as she followed his line of sight. Her mouth opened in surprise, and soon that cruel glee overtook her face as well.

"Well, well, well," she practically sang as the two of them walked over slowly, "what brings you back to Neverland?" The Lost Boys and crew all watched silently, not daring to make a move or say a word as they watched.

"How have you two not gotten any older?" He asked casually, deflecting her question. The two exchanged amused looks.

"Magic," Peter answered simply. "Now, would you be so kind as to answer my dear Tiger Lily's question?"

Hook scoffed, "What kind of name is Tiger Lily?"

The girl's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Killian found himself flying backwards towards the railing, landing painfully on his back. Gasping in shock, he realized she had sent him soaring through the air with magic. It was around that time when Killian had realized how dangerous it was to have arrived back in Neverland. He had underestimated these children.

"When I ask you a question, _pirate_," she spat, stalking towards him, "you'd do well to answer it." Peter just watched from behind her, always enjoying the moments when Lily's inner tiger came out.

"Dreamshade," Killian chocked out, still hurt from being rammed into the wooden boards, "I'm here for the Dreamshade." To his astonishment, Lily looked disappointed at his answer.

"Really? The exact same thing you came here the first time for? How boring." She shoved him away, and started walking back to Peter, who reached his hand out towards her. As they walked away, Hook realized they were his only chance

"Just let me have a branch and then my crew and I will leave." He called out desperately, knowing that making a deal with them might be the only way to save his life.

"Leave?" Now Peter was involved in conversation. "Why would we let you leave? We can't just allow people to come and go through Neverland like it's some common port. It's our home." He looked at the pirate in an almost offended manner, but Hook knew he was toying with him. And now he was angered at being made a fool in front of his crew.

"I left the first time without you letting me." Hook bitterly challenged them, and the two moved in sync, turning to glare at him.

"You think you left without us letting you?" Peter laughed. "We wanted you to leave. No one gets off the island without our permission." He snarled at the pirate who finally decided to start standing again.

"What will you do to me now, then?" He asked, trying to figure out a way to get out of this wretched world.

The two lovers looked at each other, and seemed to have a conversation with their facial expressions. Everyone watched with bated breath; no one knew what their answer would be. Suddenly, Lily turned back around, and plastered a fake smile on her face as she looked at the nervous pirate.

"You will stay here,_ Captain Jones_, "she called him by his title mockingly, and Killian swallowed his sarcastic reply, "and until we want you to, you will never leave. And you will never dock onto our shores. If you try to reach our beaches, I'll make sure you feel the wrath of the giant squid."

Peter took her hand and they both started walking towards the edge of the ship. All of the Lost Boys followed after them, their hoods now down. One by one, they jumped over the side into the water. But there was no splash.

Once all of the Lost Children had gotten off his ship, Hook ran to the side and peered over it. On the water's surface, the Lost Boys all sat in rowboats, and now they were heading back to their island.

They were very good, Hook thought to himself. They were trained in fighting; they knew how to sneak up onto a ship without anyone noticing them; and the two leaders were very powerful magic-users. With a sigh of resignation, Hook realized there was no way he could return to his homeland without the help of these people. He couldn't trick them or barter his way out either.

But he needed his revenge, so Hook realized that the only way out of Neverland, for him and his crew, was to fight.

He was so focused on his need to vengeance and to find a way off the island that he didn't notice the smallest member of his crew hitching a ride on one of the Lost Boy's boats.

* * *

><p>The boys decided to stay on the beach when they arrived back on the shores of Neverland. So, Peter conjured up some bonfires and let them discuss the day's event among themselves. Peter, feeling too annoyed with how his perfect day with Lily had been interrupted, laid down on his back in the sand, rubbing the bridge of his nose.<p>

When he felt the sand shifting next to him, his eyes flew open, ready to yell at whatever Lost Boy thought they had some dumb question to ask him now about if they could grow raspberries or something. But, instead he saw Tiger Lily sitting next to him with her knees pulled up to her chest as she looked at all the Lost Boys, the fire's light dancing across her face. Peter's yell died in his throat, and he sat up slowly.

"What is it?" He recognized the look on her face, and knew there was something she wanted to tell him.

"There's a stowaway." She passively pointed to a skinny boy standing by himself close to the water. His unkempt blonde hair fell over his eyes and he watched the other boys playing and joking around with each other with a longing look on his face.

Peter sat up to look at the boy with a curious expression. "Did he come from the pirate ship?" He asked in an almost amused voice.

"He must've." She tilted her head. She wanted to know about this boy, he looked no older than fifteen, but she didn't want to get up.

"Felix!" She called lazily. As he always did when she called, Felix trotted over quickly.

"What is it?"

"That boy over there," she pointed in his general direction, but Felix saw him almost as soon as she pointed. "Bring him over here."

Felix nodded and went over to the boy. Peter and Lily couldn't hear what he was saying to him, but it looked threatening as he loomed over the boy. Lily chuckled, finding it amusing whenever Felix acted particularly intimidating towards anyone, as she still thought of him in the form of a toddler.

Felix brought the boy over, pulling him by the arm. Other boys started to notice that something was happening, noticing that there was an outsider. A few peered over to see what was going on, but all of them knew to keep their distance. If Tiger Lily and Peter Pan wanted them to hear what was going on, they would've invited them over.

"Well, hello there." Peter greeted in a way that came off as both menacing and welcoming. Peter had the gift of sounding like that most of the time.

"No, you can stay, Felix." Lily stopped him, keeping her eyes on the newcomer. Felix stopped turning around to leave, and stayed behind the boy, in case he tried to run away.

The boy seemed like he wanted to say something, but had no idea how to formulate the words.

"So why are you here, boy?" Peter asked. Then his eyes narrowed as a thought crossed him, "are you some sort of pirate spy?"

"No!" The boy yelled angrily, apparently finding the words. "I hate that one-handed bastard!" Peter and Lily's eyebrows rose in surprise and they looked at each other, finding his reaction both shocking and amusing.

"So, what? You want to become a Lost Boy?" Peter's statement was filled with mirth and with a lazy swipe of his hand through the air a wooden cup filled with a warm drink appeared in his hand. The boy's eyes widened at the casual display of magic, or power. Peter barely reacted to the boy's astonishment, though Lily knew it was doing nothing to lower his ego. She grabbed at the cup and pried it from his fingers, taking a long sip as her own personal display of power.

"Well then, boy, out with it." Peter reiterated irritably. He did so hate it when people didn't answer his questions.

"Y-yes. I want to join you and your…" he looked around, and then remembered the term Pan used, "Lost Boys."

"What's your name?" Lily asked, the cup still raised near her lips. The boy turned to look at her, and paused. It seemed that he, like most of the boys, wasn't used to answering to a girl. He seemed to be considering not answering her as an act of defiance, which made Lily raise her eyebrow challengingly. Then the boy remembered how she had acted when his former captain hadn't answered her.

"Slightly…ma'am." He added reluctantly. Lily let out a snort, and Peter let out a quiet laugh as well. He tightened his hold on her waist and rested his head near her neck.

"What kind of name is Slightly?" She asked gleefully, enjoying winding up this little boy. His fists clenched and he didn't stop glaring at her, much to Lily and Peter's amusement.

"Village I came from, all the clothes my mum'd buy would say 'Slightly Used', and then that became my name." He spat out his tale, obviously disliking having to relive it for her.

"Hmm...I suppose you have no place to go. That Captain definitely won't take you back now." Peter mused. Lily whispered something in his ear, and he grinned. The power couple seemed to converse quietly for a few more moment, before Peter sat up straight and looked towards Slightly.

"I guess we could use another Lost Boy." He remarked casually, causing Slightly's face to break out in a large smile, excitement taking over his whole being.

"Go and play or something." Peter dismissed him and Felix, the former skipping towards the other boys while the latter bowed before walking back towards the fires. Peter nuzzled Tiger Lily's neck while she continued drinking down the rest of his drink, watching the newcomer.

"I don't think he liked me," she remarked offhandedly. Peter stopped moving his nose up and down her neck to lean back and stare at her.

"It doesn't matter if he likes you right now. Most of the boys took a while to get used to taking orders from you, and now they'd all die for you without a second thought." He remarked, and Lily looked over at him. Staring into those piercing green eyes, Lily thought back to all those years ago, when she'd been nothing but the pretty girl in the fancy dress who had been lucky enough to catch his green eyes. Lily had sometimes wondered what would have happened to her if Peter had never found her, or if she'd never gone with him. She supposed Lord Bryant would've married her off to some old, rich man who was fat and unfaithful to her, not that she wouldn't be to him. She live the rest of her days in a large castle with many locked doors, and maybe she'd have Felix by her side, when he grew up. Maybe she'd pop out a few children and then finally die, a ripe, old, fat, woman, who'd lived a boring and uneventful life. Lily shivered at her own imagination. The very thought of a life like that made her want to barf.

"Sure," Lily agreed halfheartedly, her mind too distracted with her thoughts to completely comprehend what he was saying to her. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, and she looked away from him to stare out at the Lost Boys. She rested her head on his shoulder, somehow the warmth of the fire heating her up from so far away.

When her eyelids started to flutter, Peter placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and whispered, "Go to sleep, love." She murmured some sort of agreement, and drifted off. The last things she heard were the yells and howls of the Lost Boys, the loud, familiar noise lulling her to sleep.

* * *

><p>Lily awoke in the treehouse. It felt like it was somewhere within the middle of the day. As she had gotten accustomed to the island, Lily had been able to tell where in the day it was. There were no clocks on the island, since technically time stood still, and any clock by definition wouldn't work. Maybe it was because Lily was magically connected to the island, or something.<p>

She was alone on the bed, so she figured Peter was out doing something, since it was the middle of the day. She was used to Peter not being there when she woke up, though he was there more often than not.

Lily sat up slowly, still a little bit groggy. She stretched her hands over her head, feeling a little bit of warmth from where the sun hit her exposed skin along her waistline. Her shirt had ridden up a few inches from stretching. She let her hands fall down, and then propelled herself out of bed.

Outside of the treehouse, she could hear the general talking and clanking around noises coming from the Lost Boys. She tugged on her wearing boots, and then climbed down the rope to reach the ground. Lily headed towards camp, wondering if she could still grab some scraps for breakfast, or if it was too late. As she neared camp, she stuffed her tiger lily necklace back under her shirt, and pulled apart some leaves to make her way into the clearing.

Most of the boys didn't look up when she came in, used to her popping in and out. But, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Slightly was sitting with James and Toad over in a corner. The new boy looked up sharply when she appeared, and his watched her as she went to go sit by Hopsky and ask him for food.

"Pan's leaving tonight," Toad whispered to Slightly. The blond boy tore his vision from the only girl in the camp to look at Toad.

"So this Tiger Lily will be all alone tonight?" He asked.

Toad nodded in response.

"Where's Pan going?" James questioned curiously. He wondered why Toad could know this information, and if he did, how he had come to know it. It wasn't like Pan trusted Toad that much; he'd only been there a few decades. If anything, Toad was just another orphan to Pan; he only gave his plans to a few.

Toad shrugged, "The Enchanted Forest. He thinks that the boy he's looking for might be there. After that he said he'll try the land without magic."

James scoffed disbelievingly. Sure, Pan was prone to leaving every now and then to find that boy he was apparently been looking for forever. No one knew exactly why he wanted to find that particular Lost Boy, and everyone was even more at a lost as to what would happen if and when he was found. But it seemed unlikely that Pan would tell Toad about this, if it even was true. Toad wasn't important, he was hardly what you'd call bright, the one thing he could do right was beat up other Lost Boys. And James, like everyone else, knew that Toad was easily swayed. And it seemed like he had already been persuaded into doing anything slightly might want.

Toad shrugged, "I overheard him talking about it with Felix during breakfast." James rolled his eyes in response.

"Listen," Slightly waved his hand to gather their attention. He made a nervous glance over to Lily, who was sharing a quick kiss with Pan then began digging into her food. Slightly cleared his throat and then continued, "That stuff doesn't matter. What does matter is the plan."

Toad leaned in eagerly, but James still looked weary about this whole thing. What could they gain by whatever is was that slightly had planned? And why had be chosen James, of all the other boys? Wouldn't he just have needed Toad?

"Pan will be gone all through the night, and Nibs told me that when Pan leaves he doesn't come back 'till halfway through the next day. Which means this Tiger Lily will be all alone all night. Without Pan, she'll be defenseless. So, we sneak up there into her treehouse, and give her a little surprise." He finished the plan with a wide, cruel grin.

James shook his head. "Why are you doing this to Tiger Lily? Isn't she the one who convinced Pan to let you become a Lost Boy?"

Slightly scowled at him, annoyed by his comment. "She's rude, intolerable, and the only girl around here. Girls don't deserve to be in charge of a bunch of boys, they'll mess everything up. She doesn't fight like the rest of us have to; she probably bribes Pan to keep her around or something."

Just then, Tiger Lily let out a loud laugh at something Bran had said, and was laughing hard, eyes closed and leaning back. Peter was laughing with her, both of them leaning on each other. The three boys jumped at the sound of her laugh, on edge, but Slightly surveyed the scene with disgust in his eyes.

"Why do you want me to help you? I mean, I don't really hate Tiger Lily." That wasn't entirely true, but James wasn't dumb enough to go messing with Tiger Lily. Pan was fiercely protective of her. And, even though she was kind and generally helpful to the Boys, rumors floated of how she had once been cold and unflinching. Some Lost Boys would tell hushed storied around the fires of how Tiger Lily would behead boys if they insulted her. One particularly gruesome story was about someone in the Never Ender tribe. Apparently, some man in the ribe had kissed her, and she had torn his lips off as punishment. Then, she'd sewn his mouth back together so that he could never say who it was that did it to him.

Maybe the stories weren't true, but they still had to have come from somewhere.

Slightly shot James an annoyed look. "One of the older boys told me how she embarrassed you a few years ago."

Toad sniggered, remembering the story, and James' ears burned from embarrassment.

It was true. James had foolishly challenged Tiger Lily, saying that he knew the island better than she. She had, with a very amused face, accepted his challenge. They would play a game to prove it. They each had to go through every different area in Neverland (save the Native's territory), take something to prove that they had been there, and be back in two sundown's time to camp. James had gotten lost halfway through, only gathered a fourth of the items that he needed, and returned back in camp just as the second sun was going down. Only, when he had gotten back, he had found that Tiger Lily had already returned on the first day within a few hours.

It was humiliating, and James had never lived it down. He should've realized that a centuries old 17-year-old girl was not something to mess with, but he still felt a little bit of simmering rage whenever he saw her. Not that he'd ever act on it.

"And it's because of that," Slightly put a hand on his shoulder, "that you're needed. You dislike Tiger Lily, as an understatement, and you're the only Lost Boy who's ever been to the Spider's Forest, and returned alive."

James gulped as he stared into Slightly's determined eyes, realization settling in.


	11. Chapter 11

**Mild language warning for this chapter, also a little gore.**

* * *

><p>Pan had been gone for hours, the sun was down, and James was running through the forest. The jar in his bag was bouncing around in his side bag, but he was far too concerned for his safety to even begin thinking about the safety of the contents.<p>

He slowed when he saw Slightly and Toad standing below Tiger Lily's treehouse, holding a lit candle. He made sure his steps against the ground were silent; they'd be in deep trouble if he accidentally woke up Tiger Lily.

"Did you get it?" Toad asked excitedly. James nodded, panting softly, leaning over to catch his breath. Slightly looked exasperated at the boy's action.

"Well, hurry up then!" He whispered angrily. James looked up, annoyed, but complied jerkily. He reached his hand into his satchel, and pulled out the jar, which was around the size of his face.

Inside the glass jar was a captured tarantula, with orange knees and brown fur, creeping around the jar, trying to find a way out but unable to climb up the glass walls. It was enlarged, filling up almost half the jar. James shook it a little for effect, and the tarantula spun around and reacted wildly. It moved its legs frantically, trying to find an attacker.

"How'd you capture it?" Slightly's tone of voice was laced with awe. He longed to try and poke at the glass walls, but the eight-legged beast was still a little too close for comfort.

"Practice." James remarked dryly. "So, who's bringing it up?" All three of the boys looked to see the rope that hung from the tree. Tiger Lily had only recently moved into this new treehouse with Pan, so they hadn't had time to construct a ladder, only left a rope hanging from the side. The only problem was, the rope hung around forty feet high. Neither Slightly or James had the arm strength to climb that high, and then release a spider.

They looked to Toad, who sighed but had been expecting this. He took the jar from James, shoved it into the bag again and then put the strap over his shoulder. He was the brute force of the group, so he immediately began climbing up the rope, wondering how in the hell Tiger Lily or Pan managed to do this every day.

He slipped many times, but never fell. It took him almost twenty minutes to finally reach the top, and when he did, he took the chance to look inside, since no Lost Boy had ever had the privilege, save maybe Felix. It seemed relatively normal; except Tiger Lily's sleeping form was on a bed near the front. She wasn't snoring, which Toad found weird. He thought girls, like boys, snored, but maybe Tiger Lily was special. He'd heard that she had magic, when she and Peter first came to Neverland together.

Shaking his distracting thoughts from his head, Toad focused on his mission. He tightened his leg's grip on the rope, steading himself. Once he was able to stay in a sitting position on the rope without using his hands, he slowly reached into the bag. He brought the jar up to the treehouse floor, and turned it on its side. He unscrewed the lid and then sent the jar rolling into the treehouse.

Moving as fast as he possibly could, Toad slid down the rope, burning his hands in the process. He jumped onto the ground when he was close enough, and moved to start running back to his own treehouse, when Slightly grabbed his arm and stopped him. The blond boy was staring up at the treehouse, an expectant look on his face.

"I want to hear her scream in terror." He whispered, his voice caught up in excitement. Toad's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized how dumb he had been to have gone along with this sinister and insane plot.

"Let's get out of here," James pulled Toad's arm out from Slightly's grip, and the two teenagers ran like hell.

* * *

><p>The next morning was tense. Both James and Toad were sitting side by side at breakfast, and were waiting, just waiting, for Tiger Lily (or Pan) to come storming into camp, yelling and throwing curses or something.<p>

Truth be told, they didn't really know what was going to happen. They hadn't heard any girlish shrieks in the middle of the night, and most likely Tiger Lily was already up, so they were simply waiting for her reaction. They were practically shaking in their hoods.

They both jumped when Slightly sat down next to them, looking disappointed. He jabbed his spoon angrily in his food, and didn't say anything for a few moment, but James and Toad knew he would say something eventually.

"She didn't scream." He finally muttered. The two boys looked relieved and then more anxious by his statement. "She didn't make a noise," he expanded, "I stayed out there for hours-nothing."

"Maybe the spider crawled out of the window or something?" Toad suggested hopefully. James shook his head, shooting down that theory.

"No, the Orange-Tipped Tarantula is carnivorous. At the very least, it would have crawled on top of her to smell her or something." The three of them settled into their seats, sensing a storm coming for them as soon as Lily returned.

But Pan came home first. He appeared in the middle of the clearing in a column of a sparkling green cloud. The immortal boy grinned when the Lost Boys cheered at his arrival. He dropped the pied cloak to the ground, which he always took with his on his journeys to the Enchanted Forest. He walked towards Hopsky, who handed him some food immediately. The Lost Boy's seemed surprised that he returned with no new recruits, but didn't say anything, not knowing if he would be angry about it.

Felix was at their leader's side almost immediately, giving him reports about what had happened in the past day. Peter gave his thanks for the report, and let his eyes sweep over the camp.

The three boys subconsciously ducked down a little, hoping to avoid his gaze. They knew that if Lily found that spider, or was killed by it, they would be most seriously punished. It was hard to tell which option would hurt more though.

But Pan's eyes weren't searching for them.

"Where is my dear Tiger Lily?" He asked loudly. The three boys flinched at the sound of her name.

"Right here!" A chipper voice came from the trees.

The three boys watched, astonished as Tiger Lily emerged from the trees, smiling and running towards Peter. He caught her in his arms, and they hugged for a moment before pulling back.

"Well, what is that?" Peter asked in an amused tone, eyeing some new addition she had to her hair.

"Do you like it?" She giggled, her eyes twinkling with an inside joke she shared with her self.

"Wherever did you get it?" The three Lost Boys heard Pan's voice ask, all of them too afraid to face the couple.

"Oh, I found it scuttling around our treehouse." At that, the boys exchanged looks of horror, and then turned to see what she was talking about.

Pinning one section of Lily's hair back was an Orange-Tipped Tarantula.

The arachnid's legs opened when Lily squeezed its body, which released her hair. She demonstrated for some of the boys and for Peter. She showed them that if she squeezed it again that the legs would clamp up again and she could use it to keep her hair in place. Slightly, James, and Toad watched, horrified, as she explained that she had been awoken by a clatter and then saw the bug on the ground. She's killed it almost immediately with a flash of magic, and then realized she could use the corpse of the deadly creature for something useful.

"Oh gods," Toad moaned, knowing he was done for.

"She's insane," Slightly muttered, astonished.

James, however, said nothing. He simply stared at the girl who was beaming with delight over this new trinket. Slowly, her eyes looked towards the three boys. There were the only ones not gathered around Peter and Lily, and they realized how dumb they had been. The girl with the feather and now the spider in her hair sent the three boys a smirk. It wasn't a normal smirk; this expression she sent them was her way of saying that yes, she knew it was them, they were extremely stupid for doing it, and there was no way in hell that she would not punish them for what they had done, or had tried to do.

James buried his face in his hands.

"Pan's going to kill us. Or worse-she is."

* * *

><p>Tiger Lily's revenge was not so obvious, or at least didn't come to light for a while. The girl was known for being the most reckless-even more reckless than all the Lost Boys. While Pan was planning, cunning, watchful and waiting, Tiger Lily was reckless and brash. She jumped without thinking; she went headfirst into danger without a thought or care to her wellbeing.<p>

So to know that Tiger Lily wasn't going to come outright and punish them, to know that she was calculating for the right moment, was terrifying.

"Oh no!" She cried one day while they were returning from a scouting mission across the island. Half the Lost Boys were with her, Pan was still back at camp. But in the group of Lost Boys she had with her, Toad was one of them.

"What is it?" Ruben asked her, wondering why their leader was distressed.

She looked around frantically, and then hung her head. She sighed, looked up, and then scanned over all the boys.

"I was going to gather berries for tonight's dinner, but it seems like in all the excitement I forgot to." She looked put out. Caught between wanting to get berries for supper and wanting to return home, as she was the only one who could lead them home. Without her the Lost Boys were sure to be truly lost on the island.

The boys licked their lips at the mention of berries. Usually their food was almost tasteless, since it was made by mediocre teenage male cooks. Barely any spices or flavors, the idea of berries added to something for dinner or desert sounded like heaven. Plus, many of the Lost Ones had been homeless beggars or very poor and unable to pay for such flavors.

"Toad!" Her eyes sparkled happily as she looked at him, and her gaze was so warm that Toad forgot that she might want to kill him, "can you go back and gather up some berries, then hurry back to the group? We won't be too far behind you, I'm sure you'll be back with us in no time." She handed him the pouch for carrying the berries, and another warm smile that made all of the Lost Ones weak in the knees.

There had been rumors that Tiger Lily was some sort of princess or queen before she ruled over Neverland, and that she had won Peter Pan over by simply smiling at him, after that he had fallen in love instantly. When she gave the Lost Ones smiles like that, it wasn't that hard to believe.

Toad found himself nodding. Though he wanted berries, he didn't want to go. Tiger Lily gave him a content pat on the shoulder, (which he tried not to flinch at) and continued leading the rest of the group forward

Toad shook his head and tried to hurry back to the berry patch he had seen earlier. While he didn't want to go on this lonely mission, he figured he could snag a few red berries for himself to eat on the way back, to rewards himself for helping out.

As he pranced along the pathway, if he bothered to pay attention, he would have heard the rustling of leaves around him. But he was too focused on finding that dumb berry bush.

Quick as a flash, Toad fell forward as he tripped over the wire held up by two Lost Boys.

He started to get up, thinking he might've tripped over e rock or something, but the Lost Boys beat him to the punch. One came and shoved his face back into the ground, the other grabbed his arms. A few more came from the other sides and shoved him into a standing position. Two Lost Boys held his arms and another one came up and kicked him in the knees, forcing him to kneel.

A few Lost Ones were standing in front of him, and then they parted to allow Felix to walk forward. He was smug, walking slowly with his club resting on his shoulder and a smirk plastered on his face as he looked down at Toad, whose panicked expression only deepened.

"Well, well, well," Felix drawled, his head tilting slightly when he reached the captured boy. "What should we do with you, Toad?" He sneered out of his name.

"Oh, I have the perfect punishment for disgusting little traitors like him." Suddenly, Pan had appeared, crouching before the boy and shoving up his face by the chin so he was forced to look at Peter's enraged expression. Toad swallowed, his whole body shaking with nervous anticipation. He had never seen Pan so angry; he didn't even think Pan was capable of such anger, as he was usually so carefree. Even when it seemed like he might get a little frustrated, he'd shake it off and put on a smirk, make it into a game or something.

Then, Toad realized, the only one to ever put a buffer on Pan's anger was Tiger Lily.

"Put him in one of the cages," Peter snarled, getting up and starting to walk away. The Lost Boys shoved Toad up and started to move him up to drag him to one of the bamboo cages. Then Peter stopped, and held up his hand. When he turned around, there was a wicked grin on his face. When Toad saw that cruel smile he shivered in fear, for Peter looked truly terrifying, but at the same time, he looked truly insane.

"Once he's in his cage, put it in the Spider's Forest."

* * *

><p>James' knee bounced up and down sporadically as he waited for everyone to return from the scouting mission. He just had a bad feeling. Actually, he'd had a bad feeling ever since Tiger Lily had given them that stupid smirk. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, flinching whenever there was a noise. Maybe this was her revenge, to drive him slowly into insanity.<p>

He looked over to Slightly, who was as calm as a rock. After Pan had taken four of his trusted Lost Boys out into the woods to investigate a noise, there had only been a few of them left, Slightly and James included. The group of three traitors had been avoiding each other after the smirk incident, hoping to diffuse suspicion on them in any way possible. So far, there had been no news, and Toad was still out with Tiger Lily on that scouting mission.

James picked at the ends of his fingernails, a nervous habit. The older boys were circling around the fire, feeding it sticks and a dried leaves. Slightly finally looked up across the clearing and made eye contact with James, whose worried face expressed his concerns. Slightly stayed expressionless, going back to his knife he was carving out of stone.

The whooping altered James and all the other boys that Tiger Lily must've been back, as there was so much noise. But to James' surprise, when Tiger Lily did return with all of her disciples streaming in around her, Pan was there too, an arm around her shoulders. The Lost Boys had returned triumphantly, hands and pockets full of berries and spices for the food. It was only when Tiger Lily's eyes locked onto James', and a cruel smile overtook her face, did he realize what was going on.

He just barely heard it, over all the noise. But when she looked at him, when she stared straight at him, she ordered, "Get him!"

All at once there were Lost Boys all around him, grabbing at his limbs and shoving him face first onto the ground. Dirt was pushed up into mouth, and he felt one of his teeth get looser. He struggled, but to no avail. He knew there was no way out of this one. He looked up, trying to see in front of him. The first thing that came into his vision was a pair of worn green leather boots. Tiger Lily was standing right in front of him, staring him down, hands placed elegantly at her side. Looking like that, James could believe the rumors that she used to be royalty.

She raised a hand to motion upwards with two fingers. Almost immediately he was brought up roughly onto his knees. James kept eye contact with her, knowing any sign of weakness at this stage would be idiotic. Tiger Lily tilted her head as she peered at him.

Without turning around, she ordered, "Tootles, Nibs, go fetch the other one. He ran away some minutes ago. He's probably somewhere along Crocodile Cove by now." The two boys nodded seriously and took off, weapons gripped in each hand.

Peter stalked off with two other Lost Boys, no doubt to get the cage James was supposed to be put in. He wondered what sort of torture they would concoct for him. No one had ever done something this bad before, had ever thought of even doing something this bad before. He'd seen Lost Ones executed for less.

Tiger Lily continued staring him down, and James didn't know what else to do except stare back. He briefly considered pleading with his eyes, if nothing else, but figured that'd only earn him a slap to the face. Or an arrow to the face.

"I have to say, James, I wasn't expecting this from you." She spoke finally, "I mean, Toad, I understand; he's an idiot. Slightly's new, so he doesn't understand how horrible I could be, but you." She pointed to him and walked closer to invade his personal space. "I thought you'd already learned your lesson from the last time." She spoke softly now, only a few inches away. Her breath was hot and angry on his face, and, despite all his best efforts, he shivered from the feeling of having her so near.

All the Lost Ones, to some degree, felt a level of attraction towards Tiger Lily. Or at least could acknowledge that she was extremely beautiful. Even the few Lost Boys that didn't like girls liked Tiger Lily. No matter how much dirt she caked on, or how many tangles were in her hair, she was the prettiest thing any of them had ever seen. It wasn't just that was beautiful, it was also her fierceness that drew them all in. She was truly wild, a representation what they all longed to be. You could bring a thousand pretty princesses with perfect curls and fitting bodices and they still couldn't hold a candle to their Tiger Lily, in the Lost Boy's eyes.

With thoughts like these in his head, James was having a hard time not leaning in with her that close. He only thanked the gods above that Pan wasn't watching.

"I guess I'm just stupid." He retorted spitefully. And Tiger Lily adorned a bitter smile.

"That's true," she agreed.

"And you have to pay for your stupidity." She leaned back, and just then, Tootles and Nibs returned with the scrawny blond boy thrashing around in their arms.

"I didn't do anything! You can't blame any of this on me! I didn't do anything!" He pleaded, and looked quite pathetic as he tried to implore for people to see his innocence.

"Oh, Slightly," she laughed as she crouched in front of his bleeding face. Apparently, they'd had to punch him in the nose to knock him over and then drag him back to camp. "You could plead innocence back home, but justice works a little different in Neverland." He looked more and more frightened with each step that she took towards him.

When she was finally close enough, it seemed that her cool façade finally broke and she punched him hard in the ribs. He let out a groan and James had to flinch at the sight.

Pan came back just about then. Behind him, Felix, Fitz, Orrin and Cain were carrying two cages made of bamboo and branches. James recognized them instantly. They were normally used for games. You'd put someone inside them and then throw it off a mountainside, or beat the outside with sticks. Now, they would be used for him.

He was shoved into the first one, and Slightly into the second. He watched as Tiger Lily and Pan, so caught up in the exhilaration and the cheering of the Lost Boys, kissed each other violently in the middle of the clearing. As quick as he had been locked in, James' cage was picked up and started moving again.

Behind him, Slightly was still screaming and begging, making James roll his eyes. At the very least the boy could have the common sense to shut up. James had already resigned himself to his fate.

"Where are we putting them again?" Cain asked Felix to the right of him. James peaked up a bit, anxious to find out where they would be put.

Felix's voice was rough and low, terse. He never really liked talking with most of the other boys.

"Where we put the last one."

James figured the last one must have been Toad, since he had been out with Tiger Lily and James hadn't seen him since.

"_SHUT UP!_" Fitz yelled at Slightly from behind him. Slightly hadn't managed to shut up since he'd been captured.

"Hit him," Felix ordered Orrin, and the boy, deciding to take his own interpretation of that, took his spear with one hand and jabbed it into the cage, stabbing the boy in the arm. He only made a loud yelp and then was silent the rest of the trip.

"Put him down here." Felix ordered about ten minutes later. They had reached the top of a hill in front of a very familiar setting to James.

"The Spider's Forest." He whispered to himself. His cage was put at the top of the hill, then, without warning, he was pushed, and sent tumbling down the rocky hillside into the Spider's Forest bouncing around in his cage. The cage rolled to a stop harshly, crashing into a large rock. Next to him, Toad lay, passed out from exhaustion or worse, in his cage.

James was actually a little surprised that the cage had managed to stay intact through all this, but he supposed Pan had probably put magic barriers on it.

A few seconds later, Slightly came barreling down with a loud crash. Immediately, he started jabbering on nervously.

"Shut up, Slightly!" James hissed. The boy looked at him with wide eyes. "If you're loud enough they'll hear you!"

"What will?!" Slightly whisper-screamed. But it was too late. James heard the tell-tale noises of approaching spiders. The pattering, the wet clashing of pinchers, and that disgusting sound of bones clanking around each other.

The bigger spiders weren't too much of a problem; they couldn't get into the cages or try to bite at them as their pinchers were too large. But the smaller ones could. They could climb inside then climb all over and be everywhere. The tiny ones could crawl inside your clothes and bite between your fingers. James was screaming, but he couldn't open his mouth, as they might crawl inside. Instead he had to close his eyes, clamp his mouth shut and cover his nose and ears, curl up in a little ball and tolerate their biting, their crawling. The disgusting sounds of them moving, hearing Toad wake up and hear his shrill shrieks into the air.

But as it all went on, James knew the spider he had to fear the most was the one he sent a spider crawling to.

* * *

><p>The morning came with the smell of something burning and the feeling of being kicked awake. When he was jostled upwards, he saw that all the cages had already been picked up and they were heading somewhere else now. Felix and Fitz, both carrying torches were on either side, stoically carrying his cage. James took this blessed moment of peace to inspect himself.<p>

He was covered in bites, sores and scrapes. Dried blood and pus was all over his limbs and face. Swelling wounds were all over him and he ached and itched everywhere. As he tried to scrape off the blood he found tiny spider legs and spider bits stuck all over him him.

He had never felt more disgusting, but at the same time he had never felt guiltier.

They finally stopped and James had to blink a few times to see clearly. The cages were dropped and James looked around and realized they were in what the Lost Boys had unofficially named 'The Arena' as it was where they had all their public fights.

James tried to swallow the bit of nervousness that bubbled up in his stomach, but found he couldn't. Maybe it the fact that his throat was raw from holding his breath last night.

"Oh, our guests have arrived!" A cheerful and menacing voice rang out through the clearing. Tiger Lily walked out; looking probably the most radiant James had ever seen her. Her usual white feather had been replaced by a blood red one, and the spider was out of her hair as well. She had a spring in her step, a pep, a happiness. James knew he might be dead by the end of the day.

"Let's take Slightly out first." She waved her hand lazily and a Lost Boy unlocked Slightly's cage and grabbed him by the collar, shoving him out of the cage. Seeing Slightly, he looked about as bad as James felt.

"Do you know what we're going to do, Slightly?" Tiger Lily asked. The boy didn't move, apparently he was too exhausted. She sighed in exasperation and disgust.

She grabbed him by the back of his hair and shoved his head up so he would look at her.

"What?" He rasped out hatefully, probably using all of his energy to glare at her.

She smirked in response and took out a pouch. Slowly, almost lovingly, she put the end of it to his lips and lifted it. Out spilled water that fell from and between his lips. It was the best water he had ever tasted, crisp and clean and clear. He swallowed, then tried to chug it. It tasted so good that he forgot he hurt all over. Then, he realized, the more of the water he drank, the more his wounds would disappear.

"Hope you're not planning on leaving anytime soon." She joked to herself, finally moving the flask away before he could drink more. The healing powers of the water energized Slightly, and he started to get up.

"I've decided to give you a choice." He looked up hopefully at her, but also incredulously. But by now he stayed sitting, not daring to get up, lest he seem like he was challenging her.

"You can fight me and win, in which case we'll let you go back to whatever wretched world will take you. Or, you can fight me and lose, in which case you will die." He looked frightened, but then he smirked.

"Fight _you_? Sure. I'll take your challenge." James groaned at how idiotic Slightly was being. He was so blinded by his misogyny that he didn't realize that Tiger Lily was the best fighter on the island he had ever seen.

Tiger Lily smirked at his response, lips curling deviously. She nodded in acceptance, and then offered her hand to the sitting boy. He took it, albeit reluctantly, and allowed her to bring him up into a standing position. Then she punched him in the face.

"_OW_!" He howled, hands flying to his nose that had been already broken the night before. When he did that, Tiger Lily walked over and kicked his knees, sending him to the ground. She kicked him again in the stomach, and he started to scramble away. By now he was getting the idea that Tiger Lily didn't fuck around.

She waited as he started to get up again, and she walked behind him. She kicked him flat on his back, bringing him down on the ground again. He rolled over, which was a big mistake. Taking the opportunity, she kicked him in his crotch, making him scream.

"Please! Please, please! Stop! Stop!" He yelled each word as she kicked him again and again. Finally, she did stop, barely even out of breath.

"Take him to Crocodile Cove. Leave this poor excuse of a Lost Boy to die." She snarled lowly at the closest boy, who happened to be DeadLock. He nodded frantically and went to pick up the injured boy.

"Waste of water," she muttered under her breath.

"Not even going to kill me yourself? Too much of a coward?!" Slightly yelled, overcome with anger and humiliation. James realized that he never seemed to figure out when he'd been beaten.

Tiger Lily paused. Then, she grabbed a bow and arrow from one of the guard Lost Boys.

"Let him go." She ordered DeadLock, who complied. Slightly hit the ground.

"Run." She told Slightly, aiming the arrow at his face. He went immediately, thinking she was letting him go. All of the Lost Boys thought she was letting him go, and looked at her in shock. Then, she squinted one eye to zero in on the back of Slightly's head. A second later she let the arrow fly, hitting her target dead center.

Slightly went down with only the sound of rustling leaves.

"Go retrieve your arrow." She told the Lost Boys whose bow and arrow she'd taken. "But leave his body. He doesn't deserve a proper burial."

Then she turned towards Toad, and with a gulp of nervousness, James knew it was only getting closer and closer towards his own execution.

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><p><strong>Can you please review, guys? I need feedback!<strong>

**What do you think about Lily killing someone (this is the first time she has)? Do you think I should let James live? Should I let _Toad _live? Baelfire's going to be coming along any day now, how should Lily act around him?**

**Does anyone want to request a new name for a Lost Boy? Or you could try to submit an OC yourself, I was thinking of making a trans Lost Boy, but we'll see how that goes.**

**Who wants to guess how Killian gets off the island?**

**(Also, I'm not going to post the next chapter till I get at least 10 actual reviews)**

**-TheTeaDrinker**


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